Author Meets FMA
by Sketchling
Summary: I've fallen into the world of Fullmetal Alchemist? Yikes! -ROYAI, ED/OC in later chapters, EDWIN- /DISCONTINUED/
1. I'm WHERE?

**A/N:** Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've wrote anything. My Royai obsession kinda died….xD (I still like it, just not as obsessed as I was). Anyways, this is sort of based off a dream I had. I dreamt that I fell into the FMA world, but it was all blurry. I remember trying to get Roy and Riza together…lol. So I turned it into this. No, my name isn't really Bronwyn, I just decided to use the name. Other than that she's still basically me.

There might be some spoilers in here for the manga (and episode 37 of the old anime), so beware.

**Disclaimer:** The only thing I own in this story is the plot and Bronwyn, along with any other OC's that might be in here. FMA does not belong to me (it really hurts to type that…).

_**I'm WHERE!  
**_

"Hey!"

A voice broke into my beautiful sleep, making me groan.

"Whaisit?" I grumbled, still half-asleep as I forced myself to sit up.

"Just what do you think you're doing, sleeping outside Central HQ!" The voice demanded loudly, making me open my eyes. _Central HQ? _I wondered blankly as I blinked the sleepiness out of my dark brown eyes.

The sight before me made me even more confused.

Looming over me were two, tall young men in navy blue military uniforms that rang a bell in my head, although I couldn't figure out where I recognized them from. A quick sweep around told me that I was sitting outside the walls of some huge building. Purple and orange were streaked across the sky, which told me it was roughly around five or six.

"Uhh…" was all I could manage as I stood, brushing the dirt off my skinny jeans.

"You on drugs or something, kid?" the blond man asked, gazing at me with disgust.

"No!" I snapped irritably. I was really not in the mood for comments such as that.

The other guy snorted is disbelief and grabbed be by the arm roughly, dragging me along "C'mon, kid. You can sort this out with the Colonel."

XoXoXoX

I tried to think of what I would tell the Colonel as the officers dragged me through the building's long halls, but I was too confused to come up with anything. Instead, I tried remembering how I ended up in this weird mess. I remembered coming home from one of my friends' house, exhausted. I remember we went walking for a long time around the neighborhood or something like that. Then I remembered flopping down onto the couch, not bothering to take my shoes off and….then what?

_Oh, _I thought suddenly _I must've fallen asleep. But…I know for sure that this isn't a dream. Dreams aren't this vivid and real. So what the hell happened!_

But I wasn't given any more time to think as the officers turned sharply into a room (or an office), the dark-brown haired man still gripping my arm, and not exactly gently if I may add.

The office was pretty nice, I guess, as far as offices go. There were five men and one woman. Four of the men—a blond smoker, a young man with black hair and glasses, a portly red-headed man, and a guy with squinty eyes and gray hair—sat at desks in the middle of the room, while the other man sat at the back of the room. This guy's desk was big. The Colonel (at least that's who I assumed he was) was currently bent over his desk, signing a paper. His hair was raven-black and messy. A serious-looking blond woman stood at his side, her hair clipped up in a tight bun.

And then, all of a sudden, just like that, it clicked. The uniforms were familiar because I had, in fact, seen them before.

In an anime.

In Fullmetal Alchemist.

The names came to me in a flash; Jean Havoc, Kain Fuery, Heymans Breda, Vato Falman, Roy Mustang, and Riza Hawkeye.

However, though, I tried not to let any recognition show on my face as the officer shoved me in front of him, causing the Colonel to look up at me. I mean, I had no idea how I would explain what the hell an anime was to them, let alone how they were a part of one. So I decided to just play dumb and gazed back innocently at the Colonel.

"We found this girl sleeping outside HQ," the blond man behind me growled "And we thought her temper should be put in check."

Confusion flashed in the Colonel's onyx eyes briefly before he waved a hand "Alright, I'll deal with her. Go back to your posts."

The two officers did as they were told and left, closing the door behind them.

"Who are you?"

I blinked and looked down at my feet nervously as the Colonel questioned me, all eyes on me.

_Shit, _I thought, frantically trying to come up with something now as he repeated himself "Answer me; who are you?"

"I need your help," I blurted out finally, looking up at him.

He blinked, studying me carefully now "With what?"

"Uhhh…er…" I was panicking now, racking my brain for ideas "I have no idea how I got here." That was true, after all.

Okay. Bad approach. Now they were all looking at me like I was on drugs.

"Um, what year is it?" I asked. Now I knew what to do. Technically, I _had_ gone back in time. Well, and traveled to a completely different world, but whatever.

"1912, why?" (**A/N: I'm not entirely sure on the year….**) The Colonel answered, looking seriously concerned and confused now.

I made my eyes widen as large as I could, my entire body going rigid. It was at this moment that I thanked myself for taking drama in school.

"Oh God…" I muttered, my voice trembling "Oh no…no no no no no….." I sped up my breathing a little bit, too.

"What is it?" Mustang asked, concern in his voice, along with a hint of confusion.

"Umm…you might not believe me when I say this, but…I'm from the future." I told him, silently adding _And an entirely different world._

For a moment, the entire room was silent.

Until Havoc and Breda burst out laughing, that is.

"Yeah," Havoc laughed "And pigs fly!"

"I'm serious!" I snapped in frustration "One minute I was napping on my couch at home, and the next thing I know two officers are waking me up!"

"Okay, okay," Mustang said. I was surprised to see he was still calm, even looking a little interested in what I'd just told him. "What year is it, then? Where you're from, I mean."

"2010, sir," I told him in all honesty.

"Month?"

"October."

"Day?"

"Uhh….the first?"

He stared at me for a moment longer before turning to Hawkeye "Lt., take her down to the mess hall and get something to eat."

"Yes, sir," she said, walking over to me and leading me out the door.

"Oh," the Colonel added before we left "And if anyone asks, she's your niece. We'll interrogate her further once you're done."

The Lt. nodded before closing the door and guiding me down the hallway.

"So," she said after a while "What's your name?"

"Bronwyn. But Bryn is fine," I responded quietly. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. Riza was my favorite character in the anime (next to Roy, of course) and I knew that she and I were very much alike. But that didn't change the fact that I absolutely suck at socializing.

"I'm First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. You may call me Riza."

Okay, so we're on a first-name basis. But I can tell she's only being friendly to calm my nerves. Not that I care, though. My nerves are pretty haywire at the moment.

There's silence after that, and we don't speak again until we get to the mess hall. It was surprisingly empty. Some part of me felt relieved about that; I'd probably just end up causing a scene, what with my colorful clothing.

"What do you want to eat?" Riza's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I looked up at her.

"Uh, a sandwich?" I'm not too picky when it comes to food.

"Turkey or ham?"

"Turkey," I told her with a dismissive wave of my hand. The previous silence ensues once again, but this time my thoughts are more focused on how the hell I managed to get here. I began to panic when I wondered if maybe I died in my sleep or something. THAT would be bad. My palms began to sweat and my hands trembled as the usually do when I'm scared. I wasn't worried before. I thought I must've been dreaming. But now it's clear that this wasn't a dream at all.

I moved over to the nearest table (which reminded me of the ones in the cafeteria when I went to middle school) and sat down, my movements all clumsy. I needed to think. _Get a grip, Bryn, _My mind yelled at me _You're being ridiculous!_ Even though I know the little voice is probably right, I can't help but worry. What if I'm stuck here? What if I can never get home? What if I never get to see my friends and family again? What if—

_Klink!_

I jumped in my seat, my heart pounding. I looked up to see Riza gazing at me with concern and the sandwich I had asked for on a small glass plate.

"You alright?" she asked with a small frown.

I stared up at her for a moment before looking down at my sandwich and nodding. "I…I'm fine. Really."

Riza stood there for a moment. She looked as though she was deciding whether to question me further or not, and obviously went for the later when she sat down across from me while I munched on my sandwich.

"Look," she began, and from the sound of her voice, (I'd experienced it with my mother) I knew she was about to go all spappy on me. "I know….you're frightened. You're worried. But we _will_ find a way to get you home. I promise." I swallowed my food and looked up. Riza gave me a small, reassuring smile when I did.

I said nothing in response and continued to eat until a little more than half of the sandwich was gone. That was when things started getting weird.


	2. Just Her Niece

**A/N: **Whoa. Another chapter! A little shorter than the first, granted, but still! *does tiny victory dance* Anyways, I didn't manage to get in a very clear picture of what Bryn looks like in the first chapter. So here:

Name: Bronwyn Gale.

Age: 14

Hair/eyes: Hair is normally dark brown, but she got bright red streaks in it. Eyes are dark brown.

Clothes: Black and (bright) pink short-sleeved jacket, skinny jeans, black high-top Converse shoes.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA, but I _do_ own Bryn and any other OCs that might be in here. Also, any reference to brand names or celebrities or anything is pure coincidence (as in, I don't own them, either).

_**Just Her Niece**_

Right as I was in mid-bite, the doors to the cafeteria swung open loudly, causing both of us to jump. I looked over and….

Armstrong. Major Alex Louis Armstrong. He spotted us and walked over, smiling.

Thankfully, his shirt was on. For now, anyways.

"Hello, Lieutenant Hawkeye," he greeted Riza cheerfully. The Major paused briefly and looked at me, making me feel self-conscious. I shifted in my spot uncomfortably. "And who might this be?"

"This is my—"

"Daughter!" Armstrong cut in dramatically "I knew you and the Colonel were up to something! Oh, what a beautiful day this is!" And at that moment, I swear, I saw little sparkles floating around him. Like the air around him was shimmering. No joke.

"Major!" Riza gasped, a blush growing on her cheeks. I could tell she was trying to hide it but failing miserably. "She's not my daughter!"

Then, Armstrong ripped off his shirt, did some heroic sort of pose and cried out "But of course she is! The art of recognizing families has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" I looked away quickly to spare myself from any mental scarring the man might inflict. It's funny when he does it in the anime or manga, sure, but in real life? It's just downright awkward.

"Besides," he added, pulling me up out my seat "She bears many of your traits! So quiet and emotionless. Yet look at her hair! It's dark, like the Colonel's." Armstrong laughed loudly and ruffled my hair with his large hand. It was all I could do to keep from falling over. "She's also quite beautiful, which comes from both you and the Colonel!"

"Heh," I smirked, my cocky attitude taking over "I _am_ pretty damn sexy." The Major smiled widely, about to speak again when I interrupted him "But I'm not their child. Riza is my aunt."

If Riza wasn't such an emotionless person, she probably would've sighed in relief at my amazing save. Instead her shoulders relaxed and she massaged her temples. I guessed she must've been thinking about how bad it would be if Armstrong spread it around that I was their child.

There was a pause, and then Armstrong cried out "Nonsense!" Then he skipped (I swear it's true) out the door, a trail of sparkles floating behind him.

Riza groaned loudly, digging her nails into her temples now.

"Headache?" I questioned, picking up my plate and placing it in the sink.

She looked at me in frustration. "That's an understatement, Bronwyn."

I just grinned back at her, turning my attention to the unattended jacket lying on the table. "Er…he forgot his jacket…"

The Lieutenant sighed and shook her head disapprovingly before snatching up the large military jacket and walking briskly out the door. She didn't bother telling me to follow her. I ended up half-jogging to catch up.

We walked quickly down the hallway back to the office; I kept my half-jogging pace. Riza's a fast walker.

Once we reached our destination, Riza opened the door harshly and shut it loudly behind us, causing the men in the room to jump. They were all standing around the Colonel's desk, but they moved aside when we entered. The Colonel didn't jump, though. He just looked up from the paper he was writing on, his expression faintly surprised.

"Welcome back," he greeted us casually. His onyx eyes flicked back and forth between us before stopping on me.

I guess I must've looked pretty shaken because he said "What's up with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." A pause. "You _haven't_ seen a ghost, have you?" Yeah. That would be fantastic. As if this day could get any weirder.

"No," Riza sighed "We just ran into Major Armstrong down at the mess hall." She said it like that explained everything, which it basically did. "He's convinced that Bronwyn here is our child, sir. Something about 'us being up to something'."

Mustang flinched, but quickly regained his composure and smirked. "Damn. It seems as though we've been found out, Lt.." The guys snickered and I chuckled a little myself. Yeah, like _I _was their offspring. Maybe if I could make something burst into flames with the snap of my fingers or if I actually knew how to work a gun, then yeah. Otherwise, no.

Riza gave him a look "Colonel, please be serious about this. If Armstrong spreads this around, you'll be fired! Both of us will!" The men looked more serious now and stopped laughing. She was right. I remembered there being a strict 'no fraternization' law in the story. If the rumor spread to the higher-ups, Riza would probably be fired. Mustang might remain in the military, but he'd probably be moved down a few ranks. Ouch.

Mustang seemed to be taking this in as well. He ran a hand through his messy black hair, letting out a shaky breath. The man turned away for a moment, obviously thinking things through. It was then he saw the abnormally large military jacket hanging on Riza's arm.

"Is that..?"

"Armstrong's? Yes," Riza replied.

He furrowed his brows for a moment before looking at me. I let out a sigh before he even gave the orders.

"Bronwyn, is it?"

"Bryn, please."

A smirk crept onto his lips. "Right then, Bryn, you are to return the jacket to Armstrong. While you are there, you will convince him that you are not our child and—"

"Whoa," I interrupted "Let me get this straight. You're sending me to Mr. Shirtless-Sparkly-Muscles-Guy to give him his jacket _and _convince him I'm not your kid…..ALONE!" I really wasn't in a hurry to see the sparkles again.

The Colonel blinked in surprise, like he thought I was some perfect little obedient girl. Nu-uh. I don't think so.

"Well, when you put it like that…I suppose I could go with you." I simply replied with a look that came from somewhere in the 'that's what I thought' family.

XoXoXoX

I stayed close to the Colonel as he rapped twice on the Major's office door, shrinking farther behind him with each knock. My fingers dug into the stiff material of the Major's jacket, which I now clung tightly to my chest. I REALLY didn't want to see those sparkles again.

After two knocks Mustang paused, about to knock again when the door swung open. I winced.

"Oh, Colonel Mustang! Good evening!" Armstrong boomed. He loomed over us, his pale blue eyes fixing on me. "Hello again, Miss…?"

"Gale," I heard myself say. My voice was awfully squeaky. "Bronwyn Gale. B-b-but Bryn is fine."

Armstrong looked confused. "But aren't you the Colonel's—"

"Major," Mustang interrupted "Bryn is NOT the Lt. and I's daughter. She is Hawkeye's niece."

They both went silent after that, and I quickly realized they were waiting for me to say something. "Uh, yeah," I nodded "Not their daughter. Hawkeye's niece. And uh…jacket." I held out said jacket to the muscular man, my arms trembling furiously. _Damn, I never thought he'd be this intimidating….and he's not even trying!_

The Major's blue eyes narrowed slightly, as though he were weighing the odds of us telling the truth.

"Look," I burst out "My hair is dark, sure, but it has red in it." I had bright red streaks in my hair, making it look redder than its usual dark brown. I was surprised that no one here thought that was odd. "And sure, I may bear a few of their traits, but that's just a coincidence! I'M JUST HER NIECE! NOT HER FREAKING DAUGHTER!"

Both of the men stared down at me in surprise; I'd been pretty quiet up until now. I was surprised, too, though. I normally kept quiet around strangers (even if they _did_ come from one of my favorite mangas, they still counted as strangers). I guess falling into a totally different world does that to a person.

Finally, Armstrong spoke. "Hm. I suppose I shall believe you." The Colonel and I sighed in relief. "BUT MY SUSPICIONS SHALL REMAIN!" And with that, he let out a chorus of laughter before grabbing the jacket from my hands and returning into his office, closing the door behind him.

I stared at the door for a few seconds before realizing my mouth was open and closed it quickly. I turned my attention to Mustang, who was still staring at the closed door in disbelief.

"We should've seen this coming."

"No kidding."

**A/N:** Ahhh….I had to stuff Armstrong in here….I just HAD to…xD

Review please! ~Sketch


	3. The Difference Between Our Worlds

** A/N: **Sorry for taking so long! School's really been keeping me busy. Not only that, but I got a little writer's block in the middle of this chapter. Ugh. I personally think I was a little lazy with this chapter :P

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA. I own Bronwyn and any other OCs that may appear, but that's it. (it's really annoying to type this in every single chapter)

_**The Difference Between Our Worlds**_

I glared up at the hidden smirk on Riza's face. It wasn't showing, but I could see it in her eyes, in the way the corners of her lips twitched up ever so slightly when we entered the office. She was laughing at us.

Roy noticed too, because he growled out "Lieutenant. Quit mocking us."

"I didn't say anything," she scoffed, the smirk she'd been hiding now showing.

The Colonel only grunted in response as he dropped down into his chair, while I opted for leaning against a desk. I did it kind of awkwardly; I didn't feel like I belonged here at all. I felt like the elephant in the room.

"So," I said, breaking the awkward silence "What were you guys doing?" Mustang raised an eyebrow while the rest stared up at me blankly. "You were all crowded around the Colonel's desk when Riza and I came back…?"

"Oh," a voice sounded from my left. I turned to see Havoc's blue eyes fixed on me, a cigarette hanging on his lip. "We were just trying to sort some stuff out. Like how the hell you got here." His eyes narrowed. "If what you say is even true."

Panic and frustration bubbled up inside me all at once. They _had _to believe me! "I'm telling the truth!" I snapped. "Do I _look _like I come from this time!" I gestured to my colorful clothing, my shoes, my pants, everything.

The blond lieutenant shrugged nonchalantly. "How do we know you don't make your own clothes?" There was a playfulness laced into his voice that told me he was just trying to piss me off.

I let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah, right. What'd you guys come up with, anyways?"

The Colonel wordlessly handed me the paper that he'd been forced to abandon earlier when we set off on our 'quest'. I scanned over it briefly. There were things like 'opened Truth' or 'summoned' and 'Tinmetul'…wait, what?

"Tinmetul?" I questioned.

"_Fullmetal_." Mustang corrected me irritably. I smirked.

"You know your hand-writing sucks, right?"

"Shut up."

I shrugged off the silliness and got down to business. _I haven't met Ed yet, so I'm not supposed to know who he is. And I don't have alchemy in my world, so I'm not supposed to know what any of this is, really._

I decided to begin with the former. "What's 'Fullmetal'?"

"Actually," the raven-haired man replied with a smirk "It's more like 'who's Fullmetal'."

"Fullmetal is a person? What kind of name is _that_?"

Mustang chuckled a little and leaned back in his chair. "It's just his code name, don't worry. His real name is Edward Elric. The Fullmetal Alchemist." _There we go. Time to play stupid._

"Alchemist?" I asked dumbly.

"Yeah…people who use alchemy."

"Alchemy?"

All eyes were staring at me in shock now. Perfect. "You…you don't know what alchemy is?" Falman asked, stunned.

"Well, I sort of know what it is….it's just like magic, right? But not real."

"What do you mean, 'not real'?" Riza asked. There was no hiding the shock in her voice.

"I mean 'not real' as in, 'stuff of legend', or myth." I said it nonchalantly, like it didn't matter.

There was a big pause. Then Mustang asked the question I knew everyone was wondering. "Do you have alchemy in your world, Bryn?"

So now it wasn't my 'time' but instead my 'world'. Now things were where they needed to be. "No. I don't." Almost where they needed to be. "Do you have alchemy here?"

The Colonel nodded quietly, the color slowly returning to his face. "We have alchemy here. I'm the Flame Alchemist."

I blinked innocently and drummed my fingers on my right hand, one by one, on my thigh out of their view. It was a nervous habit I'd developed over the years. "So, you do stuff with fire then?"

He smirked briefly at this before nodding and gazing out the window. There was a long silence before I got around to wondering where things would go from here. _I guess I'm gonna be here for a while, _I thought quietly as the others returned to their work as though nothing had happened. _So where am I supposed to stay? I guess I could always just hide out here... _I asked the Colonel about it.

"No," he said "It's too risky. You'll have to stay with one of my subordinates."

A big hand ruffled my hair. I vaguely wondered how many times that was going to happen to me while I was here. Upon turning around I got a face-full of cigarette smoke and coughed into my elbow loudly.

"Ah. Sorry, kid," Havoc apologized, scratching behind his head. "You could stay with me if you want."

"Er, thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather not be stuck in a room full of smoke," I replied shortly before a cough escaped my throat.

Havoc sighed. "Picky, picky."

The Colonel's onyx eyes drifted around the room, briefly pausing on each of his subordinates until they reached Riza. They seemed to hover over her shape for an eternity. I took advantage of the moment, being the Royai freak that I am.

"Hey," I said loudly "Why are you staring at Riza?" Both of their heads (Mustang and Riza's) shot up immediately. I watched in amusement as she raised an eyebrow at him and he threw up his arms in response, both of their faces red.

"Sir—"

"I was just wondering if this brat could stay with you!" Mustang defended before Riza even had the chance to say anything.

The blond woman nodded in agreement. "I'm fine with that. Please stay focused on your work, sir." Then she went right back to signing papers, like nothing happened.

XoXoXoX

The rest of the day was spent sitting against the wall next to the door, doodling random pictures on a scratch piece of paper with an old-fashioned pen. The ink splattered a few times from me pressing down too hard, but other than that it was fine.

I drew random things—one of them being Hayate, Riza's dog. I hadn't seen him yet, so I wondered if she left him at home or if maybe she just hadn't gotten him yet. I racked my brain for details from the manga/anime, but came up with nothing. It felt pretty blank.

Now I stood by the door, extremely bored. There was nothing to do but sit and keep quiet. Eventually everyone left, except for me, Mustang, and Riza. It was actually pretty boring. Okay, I admit it. I was hoping for some Royai moments, but they were too concentrated on their work.

I shifted in my spot, trying to get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could get when standing. I leaned against the wall, biting my nails—a sure sign of boredom. Neither Riza nor Mustang seemed to notice, though. I bit back the urge to let out an exaggerated sigh and closed my eyes.

Slowly, I began to fall asleep while standing, the time between the fleeting moments when my eyes would flicker open extending until they didn't open again, and darkness wrapped around me like an oddly comforting blanket.

XoXoXoX

"Bronwyn," a voice murmured softly.

"Mrfffmghh."

"Bronwyn." The voice was louder this time.

"I don't wanna go to school today….too tired...go away…"

The voice—which I (being very out of it and half-asleep) had assumed to be my mother's—sighed impatiently. All of a sudden, she kicked my legs out from under me and I fell to the floor.

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my forehead. "What was that for?"

My dark brown eyes locked with a set of caramel ones. _Wait, _I thought _That can't be right. Mom's eyes are blue…_

Oh. Right. Fullmetal Alchemist. Riza. Mustang. Office. It all came back, bit by bit.

A sort of homesickness pierced through my heart and I winced inwardly. I stood and faced Riza, glancing at the rest of the office. It was empty. Mustang must've left.

"It's time to go," the blond stated "The Colonel offered to walk us home and is waiting for us outside, so let's not keep him waiting."

I bit back a smirk. Mustang had offered to walk her home? Then I almost banged my head against the wall in regret. I'd missed it! I'd fallen asleep and I'd missed whatever conversation they had!

_It doesn't matter, _I assured myself as I followed Riza out the office door _Because, hey, he's walking us home. Something's bound to happen._

**A/N: **Reviews are love! Please resist the urge to flame! ~Sketch


	4. Should I Stay or Should I Go?

** A/N: **This chapter is kinda short…sorry. I didn't have much to put in it, but I _did_ come up with a teensy bit of Royai :D

….I know, I'm pathetic *OTL*

**Disclaimer:** I own Bronwyn Gale and any other OCs that may appear in here, but that's it, hun. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any brands or celeberties or whatever else pops up.

_**Should I Stay or Should I Go?**_

Once we were out of the building, I realized how freezing cold it was. It _was _fall, after all. Short sleeves on a windy night wasn't exactly the best idea in the world.

So I ended up shivering all the way to the gate where the Colonel was supposedly waiting for us. I really, really, hoped he had a car.

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to keep warm as we approached the raven-haired man. I envied the black trench coat that wrapped around his body.

He greeted us with a short nod and a smile, but once we got closer he noticed my shivering.

"Not the best weather for short sleeves, huh?" he asked with that stupid smirk of his.

"Shut up," I growled.

The smirk on his face widened and he offered his arm to Riza "Shall we?"

The woman hesitated, obviously about to protest against his offer but decided against it and linked arms with him. I followed them, stunned, down the sidewalk. (Obviously he didn't have the car I'd been hoping for)

It was then I _really _began to regret falling asleep. I couldn't figure out if something happened while I was sleeping or if he was just being polite. I hoped it was the latter. I didn't want to miss anything.

I kept close behind them, watching them. Even if their arms were linked, there was still a good foot or two between them. I resisted the strong urge to push Riza into him. I mean, how can you link arms with a hot guy like Mustang and still keep your distance?

Then my brain kicked my heart for being so stupid. They had the frat laws hovering over them like vultures. So no matter how much Riza might want to cuddle up to him, she couldn't. I vaguely wondered if they could hear the sound of my heart breaking.

Pushing that aside, I took the time to observe the environment around me. The lamp posts were the kind you'd see in an old-fashioned place, like London. They made me think back to the Sherlock Homes movies. Well, technically, this place was supposed to be the mirror world of London, if I recall correctly from Conquer of Shamballa. So that pretty much gives you a good idea of what it might look like. (If you still don't know then you probably live under a rock. Go Google it or something, you poor sap.)

As we continued on, I noticed some apartment buildings come into view. Or at least, that's what they looked like.

Mustang turned to Riza, looking like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," he told us, letting go of his lieutenant and walking down the street to the right.

We stood there for a moment, watching him go until he disappeared out of our sight. Then Riza turned to me and nodded, "Let's go, then."

I just blinked in response and followed her through the apartment complex gate. Actually, it wasn't much of complex, seeing as there were only two buildings (three, if you counted the help center or whatever it's called).

We walked into the building on the left. Riza gave a small wave to the lady sitting at the desk in the lobby before leading me upstairs. I didn't say anything at all. I was still tired and pretty out of it; I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.

Luckily, Riza's apartment was on the second floor towards the end of the hall, so we didn't have to walk far. Good thing, too. I felt like I might collapse at any moment.

Once we were inside, I realized just how messy it was. All the boxes and stuff. I also noticed Hayate wasn't around, so I assumed that meant she hadn't gotten him yet.

"Sorry about the mess," Riza apologized as she set her shoes by the coat hanger near the door "We were recently transferred here from the East Headquarters, and I haven't had the time to unpack everything."

I smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine, I understand."

She went into a small, tiled area that I guessed to be the kitchen while I sat down on a small couch. I blankly wondered where the hell I would be sleeping, considering there was probably only one bedroom. The couch?

"I can make us some dinner."

I jumped, startled and turned to face Riza. She was sitting next to me on the couch. I guess I hadn't heard her coming. I quickly regained my composure and gave her a small smile.

"Actually, I'm not very hungry. Just tired." There was a pause and my smile turned into a smirk. "So, about Mustang…is he your boyfriend or something?"

"Absolutely not," Riza replied immediately. "There are strict rules in the military about fraternization."

How many times had I read arguments similar to this in fanfics online? I knew exactly what to say. "So, what if there weren't any frat laws?"

The air slowly hissed out of Riza's lungs as she rubbed her forehead. "Then he still has his goal to reach. I can't let him get distracted."

I frowned. I guess she'd had arguments like this before, from the way she didn't hesitate to answer.

"So," she said, changing the subject "I only have one bedroom, so you can sleep in there and I'll sleep on the couc—"

"No," I interrupted her "_I'll _sleep on the couch. I mean, it's the least I can do since you're letting me stay with you. I don't want to be a burden."

Her eyebrow arched and her caramel eyes bore their way into my dark brown ones. I met her gaze evenly, not batting an eye nor looking away. Finally, she pulled away and sighed.

"Alright. You can sleep on the couch," she stood and looked down at me for a moment, annoyance glittering in her eyes before padding into the hallway "I'll get you a blanket and a pillow."

XoXoXoX

I shifted on the couch for about the bazillionth time. This couch was one of those couches that were only comfortable enough for sitting. I was beginning to reconsider Riza's suggestion.

The blankets, pillow, and shirt were comfortable, just not the couch.

Who's shirt, you ask? Why, Roy Mustang's, of course. Because Riza just so happened to have one of his shirts. Of course, though, she insisted that he accidently got his clothes mixed up in her suitcase during a mission. Yeah. A 'mission'.

I felt tired. I wanted to sleep. But I couldn't. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my brain that said 'If you fall asleep, you'll wake up on your couch at home! This will all have been just a dream!' Some part of me knew this probably wasn't true, considering the nap I'd taken earlier. But still…

_You idiot, Bryn, _I growled inwardly _You _want _to get home anyways, right? _I paused before asking myself the question again.

_You want to go home…right?_

Now it wasn't just because of Riza's stiff couch that I couldn't sleep, but also because that question wouldn't leave my mind. I couldn't answer it.

_Did _I want to go home? Or…did I want to stay here?

I must've fallen asleep at one point, because that weird thing happened when you're staring at a clock and it's like, 11:30 PM, and then you blink and all of a sudden it's 4:00 AM and there's a gun pointed at your head—

"Holy shit!" I cried, toppling off the couch.

The blond sniper just sighed and put the gun back in her holster (she was already in her uniform).

"Get up. I have to be at work by five, and I have no intentions of being late."

**A/N:** Yes, I know that Riza got Hayate before they moved to Central (actually, the whole episode where she got him took place in Eastern), but whatever. *waves magical fingers* I now command episode whatever-that-one-episode-was-called-Fullmetal vs. Flame to take place in Central! There. Happy?

Anyways, please review! (no flaming please) ~Sketch


	5. The Mission Begins

** A/N: **I made up for the shortness of the last chapter by making this one slightly longer ;D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA, yadda, yadda, yadda….I only own Bryn and any other OCs….

_**The Mission Begins**_

I followed Riza back down the route we followed last night back to Central HQ, although this time Mustang wasn't with us. Riza said he usually came in to work late (not that I didn't already know that).

There wasn't much difference in my clothing. I refused to give up my skinny jeans and shoes (and bra and underwear), but I had to give up my jacket and tank top. I could probably wear the tank top some other time (since it was just plain black). Meanwhile, Riza leant me a white, long-sleeved shirt and a gray, cotton, button-up jacket that she said didn't fit her anymore.

Riza glanced back at me for about the fourth time since we'd left, and I realized that I'd fallen behind again (for the fourth time). I quickly walked to catch up with her and she frowned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't lying. I really was 'okay'. I mean, I wasn't injured, wasn't sick, had comfortable clothes, and a place to stay. As far as I was concerned, that counted as 'okay'. Riza wasn't convinced, though.

"Are you sure? You seem distracted."

Okay, so she had me there. I _was_ distracted. That question still lingered from last night, hovering over my mind like a brewing storm. And, of course, I was _still _unable to answer it. I could easily list a bunch of reasons for why I should stay, but I could also list the same amount of reasons for why I should go. No matter what I came up with, there was always a reason that popped up on the opposing side to counter it.

So I just sighed, a puff of fog drifting away from my lips. _Fog, _I thought bitterly _That's what this whole predicament feels like. It feels like I'm seeing the problem, but I'm not able to see past it._

"I guess I do have a lot on my mind," I admitted, focusing on my feet as we walked. "But you would, too, if you were in my place." I shot her a look at this and she just shrugged in return.

"I suppose."

It went silent after that. That's how it was, most of the time between Riza and I. Silence. Not exactly how I imagined meeting my favorite character from the series. I knew we had a lot in common. I guess I just never really bothered to wonder how the quiet bit would come into play.

My gaze drifted to the sky, where dark gray clouds loomed. Riza noticed them as well, and we both paused for a moment to gaze at them.

"It's going to pour," she mused "The Colonel certainly isn't going to be happy."

I almost nodded in agreement when she said "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. He's the Flame Alchemist, which means he's basically useless in water." I then nodded dumbly, numb at how close I'd just come to blowing the act.

Riza, oblivious to her just saving my hide, continued to walk in the direction of Central HQ.

"C'mon. It'll start raining any minute now, and the last thing we need is a cold."

XoXoXoX

"GOOOOOOODDDD MORNING, LT. HAWKEYE!"

_Ohhhh noooo, _I thought, dread creeping up on me _Not HIM!_

Don't know who it is? Here's a hint: obsessed father.

Yeah. Maes Hughes.

"Good morning, Lt. Colonel," Riza replied calmly.

The man strolled up to us in the middle of the hallway of Central HQ, black hair slicked back, green eyes twinkling brightly. _You'd think he's just some idiot dressed up as a military officer at first, _I thought, about to chuckle. The laugh was quickly forced back down my throat as his green eyes met mine. _Oh shi —_

"Who's this, Lt.?" That damn sparkle in his eyes was even brighter. I cringed. "Is this what you and Roy have been up to?"

Why did everyone keep insisting that I was their daughter? Did I really look _that_ similar to them? I let out an irritated huff.

"The Colonel and I have not 'been up to' _anything_, sir," Riza said, the irritation in her voice crystal clear. "This is my niece, Bronwyn."

There was a pause, and I quickly realized they were both watching me, waiting for me to speak. "Yeah," I confirmed "I'm Bryn, her niece. _Not_ her daughter."

Maes shrugged nonchalantly and smiled, extending a hand to me. "Name's Maes Hughes. I'm a Lt. Colonel."

I hesitated before grasping his larger hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, sir." His smile grew into a mischievous grin.

"You sure she's not your daughter, Hawkeye? She's just as polite as you are."

I felt my cheeks warm up a bit at the odd compliment despite the situation. I glanced over at Riza to see her cheeks were lightly dusted in a pinkish tint, though she managed to hide it better than me.

The blond woman rolled her eyes at Hughes. "Yes, I'm _positive_, sir."

The Lt. Colonel shrugged again before strolling by us, tossing a quick 'good-bye' over his shoulder. I turned to Riza to see her already walking down the hall towards the office and half-jogged to catch up. I wasn't joking when I said she was a fast walker.

Going into the office, it was fairly quiet and I assumed we were early. _Well, DUH, _I thought, doing a mental face-palm _It's _Riza_. Of course you're going to be there early!_

The only people in the office besides Riza and I were Fuery and Falman. Fuery was leaned over his desk, concentrating on the paper in front of him, while Falman was going through the cabinet against the right wall of the room. I felt boredom creeping up on me almost immediately and resisted the urge to groan. Just being in the office felt like a replay of yesterday.

Fuery looked up at us and smiled. "Good morning Lt.," he hesitated before adding "And Bryn." The smile turned to a nervous one when he greeted me. _He's just not used to you being there, _I assured myself. _He didn't mean to offend you._

"Morning," I replied, breaking off into a yawn halfway through. I quickly covered my mouth and smiled sheepishly at him, feeling Riza's amber gaze burning into the back of my head. For a moment it felt normal, like I really was her daughter and she was silently scolding me for being impolite. I shrugged off the feeling and apologized.

"Sorry," I said "I didn't sleep well last night."

Fuery just smiled sympathetically before standing and handing a paper to Riza, who was now seated at her desk.

"This needs your approval, sir," he informed her. She nodded, her eyes already looking it over. Then she scribbled down her name where it required her to sign and handed it back to him. Fuery took it and walked past me, about to leave.

"Wait," I said "Where are you going?"

"Just to take this down to the main office and get a copy of it," He replied, blinking in confusion. "Why?"

I paused. _You can stay here and die of boredom or make yourself useful. _I went for the latter and extended a hand to take the paper.

"Let me take it. I don't have anything to do anyways."

Fuery, Falman, and Riza all exchanged glances before Falman said "I think you should let her go. She'll just fall asleep again if she doesn't do anything," I winced. "And I'm sure Fuery has some other work that needs to be taken care of, anyways. We might as well make good use of her."

I looked over at Riza. Her caramel eyes were focused on her desk, clearly thinking this through. Finally, she looked up at me. I held my breath.

"Alright. You remember where the main office is, right? We passed it when we entered the building. Take it down there and give it to the lady at the desk and ask her to make a copy of it," I nodded, eager to get out before she gave me a stern look. "No fooling around. Take the paper and come straight back. Okay?"

"Okay," I said. Fuery handed me the paper and walked back over to his desk, obviously just as surprised as I was that she actually decided to let me go.

I walked out the door and shut it gently behind me, then walked away, down the hall. I didn't walk too fast, though. If I was going to be here for however long it was going to take to get me home, then I was going to learn my way around.

If I wanted to go home, that is.

_No, _I thought angrily _You _want _to go home. You don't want to stay here. You HAVE to go home._

Did I?

"Hey!"

I jumped. Someone's hand was on my shoulder. I turned to see Maes grinning down at me and nearly passed out with relief. I'd been expecting some sort of killer, but this was _far_ from any killer I knew of.

"Bronwyn, right?" That stupid grin made me want to smile.

"Bryn," I offered, allowing the corners of my lips to twitch into a small smile.

He nodded quickly before glancing around us. I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. _What's he up to?_

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the wall of the hallway, looming over me. He leaned in and I shrank away, causing a chuckle to leave his lips.

"Don't worry," he assured me "I'm married and would never think of taking advantage of any girl."

"Um, okay," I replied, praying my voice wouldn't squeak "Then what's with the whole creepy approach?"

Maes grinned. "Because no one can hear what I'm about to ask of you, or it'll ruin it. Not only that, but it'll start rumors, and Hawkeye and Roy would kill me if that happened." My eyes widened with sudden interest. Hawkeye and Roy?

"Surely you've noticed their relationship?" I nodded eagerly. Oh, I'd noticed, alright. Me and about a million other Royai fans (give or take a few hundred). "Well, here's the thing; I've been trying to get Roy a wife for _years_ and he, of course, won't get one!" A scowl crossed his face at this. "But then, one day, it just hit me! Lt. Hawkeye is the perfect wife for him!" I nodded again, unable to resist the urge to grin.

The Lt. Colonel glanced around, as though he thought we were being watched before he spoke in a low whisper. "I _know _they like each other. But they won't admit it!" Another nod from me. "Since you and Riza seem pretty close—well, you _are_ her niece—I thought you could help me try and get them together."

"Well," I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice "I think they had a moment or something last night. I fell asleep in the office, so I didn't see anything, but Mustang apparently offered to walk us home."

Maes broke out into a grin. "That dog!"

"Yeah! But I missed whatever happened, so when they linked arms on the walk to Riza's, I have no idea if something happened while I was sleeping or if he was just—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Maes spoke rapidly, gripping my forearm with a large hand. "Roy linked arms…_with Lt. Hawkeye_?"

I grinned slyly and nodded. "All the way to the apartment complex."

The man released his grip on my arm and backed away. He breathed in, holding it momentarily before exhaling. He turned to me again, green eyes blazing with a new determination.

"You're going to help me get them together."

And thus, Mission Royai had begun.

**A/N: **I know you probably all hate me for holding off on Ed's appearance for so long, but I promise Bryn will meet him in the next chapter (and Al, of course).

As always, review and don't flame! ~Sketch


	6. The Shrimp and the Armor

** A/N: **As promised (though a few days late xD), here is the next chapter of Author Meets FMA. Not very long, sorry :( I've been really busy with school, although I'm doing much, much better.

By the way, in the Author's Notes at the beginning of chapter one, I meant that it would start on the Fullmetal vs. Flame episode (which is episode twenty something of the first anime, I believe. Too lazy to go look it up), not episode 37. I always get those two mixed up for some reason :P

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA, but I _do _own Bryn.

_**The Shrimp and the Armor**_

The rest of the walk to the main office was pretty normal. I _did_ almost run into Armstrong, but I ducked into the bathroom before he saw me. Once I the coast was clear I stepped back out and continued on.

It was after my talk with Hughes that I realized how heavy my eyelids felt. I figured it must be a side effect from being with Hughes, but then I remembered how little sleep I got last night and nearly collapsed. I wished I had gotten more sleep. I couldn't fall asleep again. I was on a mission now. Hughes would most likely flood me with pictures of his daughter if I missed anything.

I let out a heavy sigh, my feet dragging on the floor. I probably looked pretty dumb, but I was too exhausted to care. Well, for now, anyways.

"May I help you?"

I started, surprised. I'd been so tired I forgot I even walked into the main office. Now the lady at the desk was looking at me weird. Great.

"Um, yeah. Lt. Hawkeye needs a copy of this," I handed her the paper and paused before adding, "Please."

She pursed her lips, but didn't say anything as she took the paper from me. "This will only take a few minutes, if you'd wait here."

I nodded and she turned on her heel (high heels? Who was insane enough to wear those in the _military_?) and disappeared into a room behind the large, wooden desk. Being in there made me feel like I was in the principal's office or something. Well, minus all the technology. There weren't any computers here. Just typewriters. I blankly wondered how that lady was going to copy the paper without a copying machine, only to realize that was what typewriters were for. _Duh._

It was while I was waiting for the woman to type up a copy that I heard yelling coming from down the hall right of the main office.

"…I SAID NO, AL! I HATE CATS!"

"B-but, brother!"

"NO!"

I stood there blankly for a moment, listening to the argument rage on. My brain didn't register the voices until the lady returned from the room and said "Oh, the Elrics must be back." I stood there, frozen in place as she handed the paper I needed to me. My mouth was hanging open as I made no move to take the paper from her.

"Miss?" I jumped at the sound of her voice. "I'd rather not stand here all day, if that's alright with you."

"Sorry," I mumbled, snatching the paper out of her hands and quickly walking out the door. Now I didn't feel tired at all. If anything, I felt more awake than ever.

I paused outside the office, listening for the yelling.

"…so please, Brother…"

I grinned to myself gleefully. The voices were coming from the hall right of the main office, which was exactly the hall I needed to take to get back to the office. Riza said no goofing off, but the owners of the voices were probably going to the same place I was.

Sure enough, right as I turned the corner, there was a suit of armor standing by the wall. My grin grew even wider. I assumed that the shrimp was standing in front of Al, as I couldn't see past him but could see him making gestures with his big, metal arms.

I continued to walk down the hall confidently, right past them. I mentally measured my height compared to Ed's, and, with a smirk, realized that he was at least four inches shorter than me (**A/N: Bryn is about as tall as Riza**). I was expecting them to notice me as I walked by—I mean, I was only fourteen and not in uniform, strolling down the halls of Central HQ. Who _wouldn't_ notice?—but they didn't even bother lowering their voices as I passed by. My excitement dropped down to disappointment and I frowned. I was sure they would've at least glanced my way.

_'They're busy with other things,' _I assured myself quietly, _'Besides, you'll be seeing them soon, anyways.'_

The moment my hand touched the hard, cold metal of the door knob, it sent a chill up my arm. That must've woken my brain up or something, because all of a sudden I recalled a scene from an episode in the first anime of FMA very similar to the one I had just witnessed with Ed and Al. It was something to do with Al hiding a cat in his armor because it was raining and he was concerned for the poor animal. Then Ed found out and argued with him about it in a hall.

_'What episode was that in?' _I wondered, my hand gripping the door knob even tighter.

I was so intent on remembering the episode that I didn't even notice a certain shrimp and a suit of armor standing behind me.

"You gonna open the door or not?"

I whirled around to find myself face-to-face with Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist himself. My jaw dropped midway open before I quickly closed it again to avoid the same embarrassment I'd encountered with the office lady a few minutes earlier.

"What's it to you, shrimp?" I retorted, casually flipping my bangs out of my eyes. _'This ought to be good.'_

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULD BE PASSED AS A CRUSTACIAN AND PUT IN A SHRIMP COCKTAIL!" Ed screamed, lunging for my neck. I just grinned and stood there as Al held him back.

"You, Ed," I replied to his screams with a mischievous smirk. Ed stopped screaming and thrashing, staring at me in shock. I knew right away I'd made a mistake. I wasn't supposed to know who he was. Well, Mustang had mentioned him yesterday, but he hadn't described him to me.

"Do we know you?" Al finally asked. A cold lump formed in my throat, but I shoved it back down. _'Don't blow it, you idiot!'_

"Mustang told me about you," I told them, regaining my posture and extending a hand to Ed, "I'm Bryn, Riza's niece. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." I paused. "Shrimp."

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID NIECE OF A TRIGGER-HAPPY—"

The door opened behind me and I turned to see…Riza.

"L-L-Lieutenant!" Ed managed, flustered.

"Trigger-happy what, Edward?" Riza asked, and although her voice was calm and collected, you could practically see lasers shooting out of her narrowed amber eyes at Ed. He gulped.

"Er, um, well, I didn't mean to insult _you_, Lt., I was trying to get back at this stupid, idiotic girl for—"

"This 'stupid, idiotic girl' happens to be my niece. And," She turned her icy gaze on me and I shrunk back timidly. "She _will _apologize for insulting you."

I scowled and Ed grinned triumphantly, but the grin quickly evaporated when Riza added "You too, Edward."

"Sorry for insulting you," he muttered.

"Sorry for calling you short," I hissed back through my teeth. He immediately exploded.

"I'M NOT SHORT, DAMMIT!"

"Bronwyn," Riza snapped and I shrunk back even further. I could almost feel her annoyance radiating off of her.

"Sorry," I squeaked. I had no intention of forgetting that she was the best sniper in the military.

She just narrowed her eyes once more before gesturing to the paper I clutched in my left hand. I smiled sheepishly and handed it to her. It was crinkled from me subconsciously tightening my grip on it during my fight with Ed. Riza sighed in annoyance and took it anyways, walking back into the office. We followed.

It was then I saw Breda crouching on top of a filing cabinet, shouting and pointing at something behind the desks, out of my view.

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!"

**A/N: **So I finally got Ed in here! Yay! I think you can guess who's going to appear in the next chapter, especially with that terrible excuse for a cliffhanger xD

Review please, but don't flame! ~Sketch


	7. Another Familiar Face

**A/N: **Happy holidays, everyone! :D I haven't posted new chapters in a while…sorry…*sweatdrop*

Anyways, I got a LiveJournal account! You can go to my profile for the link to it. I'll post updates for my fanfics there, including Author Meets FMA.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA, and God forbid that I own Twilight. That is the only thing in this story that I'm extremely glad I do not own. Bryn and any other OCs belong to me, though.

_**Another Familiar Face**_

I took a step further into the room, standing on my tiptoes to get a good look at the thing behind the desk. "What thing?"

A bark resounded throughout the office and the portly man shrunk back even further into the corner of the room, the cabinets creaking under his weight. "IT'S TRYING TO GET ME!" he screamed. "KEEP IT AWAY!"

Right then, it clicked. How could I forget this scene? It was one of my favorite parts in the entire anime!

I bit down hard on my lip to keep myself from squealing in pure joy. I was in the Fullmetal vs. Flame episode! My squeal, which I managed to suppress, came out as a squeaky cough. The others gave me a strange look (except Ed, who was snickering and received a quick glare from me) and I smiled shyly. I mumbled a quick 'excuse me' and they turned their attention back to Breda.

Riza walked around the desks and stood next to Falman, Havoc, and Fuery, who were all crowded around the animal. "Care to explain this one, Falman?" she asked the warrant officer.

He kneeled down next to the poor pup, who I knew from memory had his tongue lolling out and his stubby black tail wagging furiously. "It is a dog, Lt.. Carnivorous canine mammal. I believe it's scientific name is—"

The blonde lieutenant sighed. "That's not what I'm asking, Falman. You need to loosen up."

"Yes, sir, Lt. Hawkeye, I will continue to work on that."

Fuery stepped forward, frowning guiltily as he scooped the puppy into his arms. "I'm sorry, sirs," he apologized, "I found him this morning. He was all on his own." The sergeant picked up the dog and stroked his small, black head gently as he stood.

Havoc frowned. "So, you gonna keep him?"

"I wish I could, Lt. Havoc, but as I'm sure you're aware, there's no pets allowed in the living quarters."

Riza folded her arms across her chest. "Well, that certainly doesn't mean you can keep him in the office, Kain."

Fuery hung his head. "I know it, I just…he was shivering out in the rain and I felt so sorry for him." The kid looked up pleadingly at the higher-ranking officers. "Y-you're higher-ups, you could keep him!"

I felt so bad for the poor guy. He was such a softie. I smiled, about to volunteer, but quickly shut my mouth. I had to let things work themselves out, or else I might mess up the story line! So I kept quiet.

Falman raised a hand. "Not me, I'm in the dorms, too."

"No way!" Breda growled from his position up on the filing cabinet. "I hate those beasts!"

The Srgt. let out a sigh of defeat, but it was cut off at the end from Hayate whining. Havoc had picked him up by the scruff.

"Don't worry," he told Fuery, "I'll take him off your hands." The blond smoker walked to the other side of the office, holding the pup by the scruff. "I like dogs."

"Thank you, Lt.!" Fuery smiled gratefully. "He's really sweet!"

Havoc glanced back at the kid, adjusted his cigarette and looked the other way again. "Sure. I hear they're good when stir-fried. A few spices…yes, sir, down in the east they raise 'em as a delicacy. Especially these plump ones."

Fuery stared at Havoc, open-mouthed in utter horror while I resisted the strong urge to laugh. All of a sudden, Hawkeye swooped in and snatched the dog by the scruff from the smoker's hand and handed him over to Fuery. "Let's try to find him a better owner, okay?"

"Good plan," Fuery agreed, relief flooding over his features.

"Please," Havoc said, scratching the back of his head. "It was just a joke!" Everyone looked over at him in disbelief.

"I'd love to stay and chat," Ed piped up suddenly, "But I gotta go report to Colonel Bast—" Riza shot him a glare. "—The Colonel. So, uh, see ya later. Nice meeting you, Bryn!" The golden-haired alchemist grinned at me before he darted out the door, Al following closely behind.

"Bye, Bryn!"

"Bye, Al—" I quickly cut myself off and said "Ah, uh, I didn't get your name."

"It's Alphonse," the armor told me happily before disappearing out the door.

I don't know why, but the moment those two left, I started to feel lonely. Maybe it's because they were close to my age, or maybe it was just because I enjoyed bickering with Ed. I'm pretty sure it was the former. I mean, it's not much fun to hang out with a bunch of adults all day. Even if they _do _come from one of your favorite mangas. An adult is an adult, I guess.

And adults are boring.

XoXoXoX

I let out another heavy, long, and (much) exaggerated sigh. Havoc adjusted his cigarette in his mouth, Falman shifted in his chair, Breda rolled his eyes, and Fuery gave me a sympathetic look from his place on the floor, next to Hayate. Mustang was seated in his chair at his desk and paid no mind to my sighs. Riza, on the other hand…

Well, she looked like she wanted to make it so that I could never sigh again. Ever.

"Bronwyn," she growled, "If you're bored, then go to sleep or something."

"I'm not tired, though."

"Then do something else."

"There's nothing to do!"

Mustang put down his pen, startling both Riza and I. "Bryn," he said, fixing his onyx gaze on me. "Quit pestering the Lt. and go find something to do."

I began to sigh, but stopped midway when Riza gave me a menacing glare. So I pouted, my lower lip sticking out.

"Why don't you go find Fullmetal and his brother? I'm sure they're around here somewhere," Mustang suggested.

I jumped to my feet at the word 'Fullmetal', earning myself several raised eyebrows. The Colonel smirked mischievously as I nervously brushed my bangs out of my eyes, trying to act casual.

"Er, um, where are they, exactly?"

"Hell if I know," Mustang replied right as Havoc said "I think they're down at the Lt. Colonel's office."

It was only when I'd already said a quick 'good-bye' and was half-way down the hallway when I realized I had no idea where Hughes' office was. _'Well,' _I thought, _'I'll just have to ask around.'_

An unfamiliar blond soldier walked past, and I quickly whirled around and grabbed him by the arm. His dark, murky green eyes met my dark brown ones curiously, inspecting every inch of me with them. I didn't know if I should be disturbed or pretend I hadn't noticed. I went for the latter.

"Um," I said and his eyes drifted back to mine. "I'm looking for Lt. Colonel Hughes' office."

The young man grinned. It reminded me of someone from the anime, and though I couldn't quite remember who, it sent chills down my spine. I got the sickening feeling that whoever he was, he was one of the bad guys.

Now that I looked closely at his face, I noticed his skin was also rather pale. Why was he so familiar? It was something I couldn't answer, but every fiber of my being was screaming at me to run, to get as far away from this guy as I could.

Suddenly, he turned his head to the right and said, "This is my good side." I felt my cheeks heat up and forced my gaze on my shoes.

"Anyways, it's just down this hall on the right. Can't miss it." And with that, he shook my grip off his arm and continued down the hall. I stared after him in a mix of feelings, mostly fear, although I had no idea why.

I tore my gaze away from the soldier once he was a few good meters away and felt a rush of energy run through me. When I was with that man, I'd been rooted to the spot. Everything had seemed so…quiet. Like in a dramatic scene in a movie.

_'Well,' _I thought, walking down the hall in the direction opposite of the green-eyed man. _'At least he wasn't freezing. The last thing I need is to fall into a crossover of Fullmetal Alchemist and Twilight. Ew.'_

Shrugging off disgusting mental images of Robert Pattinson, I turned right, and realized how right the soldier had been when he'd said 'you can't miss it'.

On the fourth door down the hall on the right hand side was an enlarged picture of a young girl in pigtails, grinning brightly. I let out a defeated sigh and forced my legs to carry me down the hall, forced my hand to knock on the door. The girl's bright smile was starting to creep me out. I shuddered and knocked again, more urgently this time. _'There're probably more where that came from,' _I told myself. _'So don't think you're safe.'_

It was Ed (thank God) who answered the door, smiling. "Hey, shrimp," I greeted him.

His smile quickly turned into a frown and he cried, "DON'T CALL ME THAT! I HAVE A NAME, YOU KNOW!"

"Oh really?" I asked with a smirk. "'Cause I could've sworn Mustang said your name was Shrimp."

"HE SAID WHAT?" Ed was furious now. My smirk widened, but turned into a look of outrage when he whipped out my crumpled sketch of Black Hayate from last night. "Well, Mustang told _me_ you're an ART FREAK!"

"I AM NOT AN ART FREAK!" I practically screamed at him.

"Art freak, art freak, art freak!" He replied in a sing-song voice.

"SHRIMP!"

"ART FREAK!"

"SHORT!"

"WEIRDO!"

"STUPID!"

"Stop it, you two!"

We both turned to see Hughes standing in the doorway, a scowl plastered on his face. "Honestly, I can't talk to my daughter once without being interrupted by Ed screaming!"

"Sorry, sir," I apologized sheepishly right as Ed pointed at me accusingly and shouted "SHE STARTED IT!"

"I don't care who started it!" Hughes snapped. "You need to learn to control your temper, Ed!"

"She still started it," the young alchemist muttered under his breath. I smirked triumphantly, but my victory didn't last long.

**A/N: **…Dun dun dunnnnnn! You won't find out who that man is until later on in the story, but feel free to guess.

And, yes, I'm well aware the episode didn't go exactly like this, but I'm not trying to be exact.

Review as always! ~Sketch


	8. The Plan part 1

** A/N:** This chapter is a little bland…sorry. I still have some major writing block with this :(

On a side note, I reallyyyy need some people to enter my contest! I only have one contestant so far TT^TT;

.net/s/6551226/1/Back_to_Back_no_Matter_What The contest stuff is all in the second chapter! Please, please, PLEASE enter. The winner gets to give me a free Royai request! I'll extend the deadline if enough people ask.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA. I _do_, however, own Bryn and any other OCs.

_**The Plan part 1**_

"Geez, it's no wonder people think you're my kid!"

I whirled around to see Mustang looming over me, chuckling and stroking some invisible beard. A shudder overtook me at the memory of the picture of him at the end of anime, with that sad excuse for a mustache. Seriously, what the hell was Bones _thinking_?

"Hey, Colonel Bastard," Ed growled with a smug look on his face.

"Hey yourself, Pipsqueak."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO SEE HIM!"

Hughes let out a sigh and ran a hand through his black hair. "Honestly, Roy, if you're going to start a fight, can you _at least_ take it somewhere else? I want to talk to my daughter."

Mustang shrugged and smirked. "Don't you have work to do, Hughes? You can talk to your daughter later."

Hughes shook his head and stuck out his tongue in a childish manor. "_Some_ people don't slack off and _actually_ get their work done early."

I chuckled while Ed snickered, opening his mouth to make a remark about the Colonel before he was interrupted.

"So, Ed, it would appear that I'm going to have to fight you in this battle assessment you proposed to the Fuhrer," Mustang said with a grin.

"Shut your mouth, stupid bastard!" Ed snarled, clenching his fists so tightly that I expected his auto-mail to break. "And wipe that grin off of your face! I'm gonna beat you in this battle and then…and then…." He paused, taking deep, angry breaths. It reminded me of a bull getting ready to charge.

"And then what, Edward?" The older man asked with a smirk. His onyx eyes sparkled with a challenging gleam.

"I don't know what, Mustang!" Ed snapped. "But I'll be better and more popular than you!"

Mustang rolled his eyes, his smirk broadening. "Wonderful comeback, Ed."

While Ed screamed at Mustang, the Lt. Colonel grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the ongoing argument and into his office. He shut the door quickly and locked it with a sharp 'click'.

"What's up?" I asked, my voice laced with mild curiosity.

The man turned to me, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "I have a plan."

I raised an eyebrow. "About..?"

"Our mission, of course!" Oh. Right. That. "I have a plan that will most defiantly get them together."

I felt myself begin to grin. It was that excited gleam in his eye again. Damn it. "Well?" I asked. "Let's hear it, then."

"Okay, so you're a girl, right?"

I shot him a look. "Well, unless I'm a man with boobs and a vagi—"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Maes cried, waving his hands furiously for me to stop. "That was a rhetorical question. Anyways, since you are clearly a girl, that means you should have handwriting at least somewhat similar to Hawkeye's."

"Sexist, much?"

"Not trying to be," he replied with a shrug. "So can you?"

"Write like Riza? Maybe. Depends on how her handwriting is." I leaned back against a desk behind me, gazing at Hughes suspiciously. _'What is he up to?'_

"Um..." he said, walking over to his desk. He kneeled down and pulled open a drawer, rummaging around for a bit, mumbling to himself. I heard a small 'aha!' as he grabbed something out of the drawer and shut it.

The Lt. Colonel stood and wiggled what appeared to be a birthday card in his hand, holding it between his thumb and index finger. I moved over—a little cautiously—to take it.

On the front of the card was a colorful cartoonish picture of a cupcake with a big 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' typed at the bottom. I flipped it open to see some cursive-ish handwriting scribbled inside. 'Happy birthday, Elysia! –Aunt Riza' it read.

I closed the card and tossed it on Hughes's desk. "Alright, I can do that."

He picked it up and handed it back to me. "I'd keep this, if I were you. You're going to need it."

"Alright," I said, folding the card in half and stuffing it in the butt pocket of my pants. "But before you tell me what this plan is, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Why do you have your daughter's birthday card? Isn't that something _she_ should have?"

Hughes let out an indignant huff and folded his arms across his chest. "Well, yes. I snuck into her room last night to get it."

"But…we started our mission this morning…."

"No," he corrected me. "_You _joined my mission this morning. This was something I started a while ago. I came up with the plan yesterday. I just needed to find someone who would be willing to help that could forge Hawkeye's handwriting."

"Okay, well, anyway, let's hear this plan of yours."

His eyes twinkled mischievously and he grinned. "Since you're a girl, that means you can also get into the girl's locker room. I can easily copy Roy's handwriting, so all you have to do is take the note I write to Hawkeye and stick it in her locker."

"Wait," I said. "I don't know her combo. So how..?"

"Just slip it into one of the cracks in the door of the locker," he replied smoothly, as though he had anticipated my question. I began to wonder how long he'd really had this planned. "And I'm sure you'll be able to get away. You could run an errand for someone."

I nodded. "That's what my job while I'm stuck here, I guess. But where's the locker room?"

"You can ask your aunt for a map of the building." I nodded again and he continued. "We'll exchange the notes in the morning, since Hawkeye and I arrive at about the same time. Just meet me down in the mess hall."

"What am I supposed to write on the note?"

"Just write 'Meet me at Central Park at 7 tonight' and sign it with your aunt's name. Don't do her first name, though. Just her rank and last name."

"Okay. And I assume you'll write the same thing?" I asked.

"Yep! And if your aunt isn't comfortable with leaving you alone at home, suggest that I watch you."

I grinned. Hughes was wearing off on me. "I can't wait to see what happens."

He returned my grin and nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna be one hell of a show."

"Hey," we both jumped as someone knocked on the door. "Me and the kid gotta get back to the office." It was Mustang.

"Alright," Hughes said, unlocking the door. "She's all yours." I stepped out in front of Mustang and looked up at him innocently. Hughes gave him the same innocent look. Mustang looked back and forth between us suspiciously.

"What're you two up to?" he asked. His voice sounded annoyed.

"Nothing," I replied sweetly, walking down the hall ahead of him (and sticking my tongue out at Ed when I passed him). "Let's go."

The Colonel narrowed his eyes but followed me. Once we turned the corner and were in the hallway leading back to the office, he spoke. "What did Hughes want with you?"

"Oh, he just thought I'd rather not listen to you and Ed fighting and showed me some pictures of his daughter," I replied. I hoped he didn't think I replied too quickly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Sorry 'bout that. Hughes is a little….obsessed….with his daughter."

I grinned. "It's fine. Although I have to admit, it would've been much more entertaining to watch you guys fight."

Mustang went silent, gazing down at his feet. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was obviously deciding against it.

"What?" I asked. "Something wrong, sir?"

"Not really," he replied casually with a smirk, though I thought it looked a bit forced. "I was just thinking…"

"Whoa, wait. You were _thinking_? That's astonishing. Was it hard?" I really couldn't help myself.

He glared at me. "I was thinking that we need to tell Edward about your situation."

**A/N: **Please review! Don't flameeee ~Sketch


	9. Reassurement

** A/N:** My writer's block for this story is pretty much gone c:

Sorry for updating so irregularly with this story :( I'll try to post a chapter every Sunday from now on (not including tomorrow).

This chapter is surprisingly angsty…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA. I only own Bryn and any other OCs that may appear.

_**Reassurement**_

"What's this all about, Mustang?" Ed asked as he entered the office with Al, closing the door behind him. His expression grew even more suspicious as Havoc locked it.

Mustang sighed and motioned for him to take a seat on the small leather couch in the room (across from the one he sat on). "Take a seat, Fullmetal." I could see that he looked as though he was having second thoughts about doing this as annoyance showed clearly in the grimace he made. "We have something that we need your…your…"

"We need your help," I interjected, ignoring the sharp glare the Colonel shot me. A smirk worked its evil little way onto the alchemist's lips as he sat down next to me on the couch. Al stood obediently beside the couch where his brother sat.

"What's that? The great Flame Alchemist can't handle some puny little job and has come to _me_, begging for _my_ help?" Ed sneered.

Mustang let out a growl, his onyx eyes glittering in annoyance. He opened his mouth to make a sharp reply when Riza met his gaze and gave a small shake of her head. The man let the air hiss out of his lungs and drew in a sharp breath before replying as calmly as possible. It sounded forced. "First things first. Bryn isn't from this world." Al let out a small gasp and Ed narrowed his golden eyes. "She's from a world in the year 2010. Care to explain how you got here, Bryn?"

"Well," I began, swallowing hard. I tried not to think back to what happened too much. It filled me with a feeling of dread and I hated it. "I went walking around my neighborhood with some friends for a while, so when I got home I was exhausted. I just walked in and collapsed on the couch, not even bothering to take my shoes off. I guess I fell asleep at some point, because I was awoken by two officers on the ground outside HQ some time later." I let out a small sigh and Riza gave me a sympathetic look. She knew I was stressed.

"Bronwyn lives in a world without alchemy," Riza, who stood next to the couch that Mustang was sitting on, spoke up. "The alchemy they had was more myth than reality."

I saw Ed flinch next to me before turning to face me, a serious expression on his face. "Do you remember dreaming before you woke up?"

That was certainly something I hadn't thought about. But now that I did… "Sorry," I apologized. "But no, I can't recall any dreams."

"Were you missing anything when you woke up? Any limbs?"

I snorted and gestured to my fully intact body. "Obviously not."

"What about…memories?" Al asked me. "It's possible you lost something that wasn't part of your body."

I hesitated. _'Well, I never thought about it like that. Am I missing something?' _If I was missing something, I didn't know what it was. I didn't _feel_ like I was missing anything. "No," I replied cautiously. "I don't think I am. How the hell would I know if I was missing any memories, anyway?"

Ed shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

"So," Falman piped up from his desk. "Now what? How are we supposed to get her home?"

The blonde teenager thought for a moment before responding. "Well, we have to figure out how she got here, first."

"And then we can find out how to send her back home," Al added.

"I bet the homunculi had something to do with this," Ed growled, clenching his fists angrily. I had to agree with him there. _'What motivation would they have, though? I'm not evil or anything.'_ Right as I was about to repeat the question out loud, I remembered I was supposed to be clueless.

"Homunculi?" I asked dumbly. "Who are they?"

"Monsters," Mustang said darkly. "Disguised as humans with supernatural abilities. They don't use alchemy, either."

"We're not sure what they use," Ed added, and I found myself a little surprised that he wasn't arguing with the Colonel.

"So…you think they somehow brought me here?" I asked. "But what would be their reason? I mean, I'm not evil or anything."

"Maybe," Al suggested. "It's because of something you're not able to do yet that they somehow know you'll be able to do here."

I shrugged. I'd never been very confident in myself, and I didn't think of myself as a talented person. "What could I possibly do to help them, though?"

Ed sighed and leaned back on the couch with a shrug. "Hell if I know. Unless you're gonna draw on us to death or something."

I elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't tempt me," I retorted.

"Brother," Al said. "Why don't we go to the Central library tomorrow? We can do some research and see if we can figure anything out."

The older sibling nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me." He then stood, motioning for his younger brother to follow as he made his way to the door. "We're gonna go get some food and then get ready for the assessment. See ya, guys." And with that, they were out the door, which Havoc unlocked for them.

There was a moment of silence before I let out a sigh, leaning back on the couch gloomily. "I hate this," I mumbled, bringing my knees up and hugging them close to my body. It was probably the understatement of the year. I hated everything about this situation. I'd always imagined what it'd be like to be in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, but I never imagined it would be this stressful.

Now all I wanted to do was go home and curl up in my bed and never come back out again. Or did I? I bit my lip and rubbed my eyes, which had subconsciously begun to tear up. My head was pounding. I wished that I had never even come to ask myself that question. It was driving me insane.

"Hey," Mustang murmured, placing his hand on my head awkwardly. I looked up at him, my eyes still watering. "Don't give up. We'll get you home, no matter what it takes."

For a moment, I felt safe as my brown eyes bore into his warm onyx ones. I felt like I could accomplish anything. A pang of sadness pierced my heart unexpectedly. This moment could be something I would've experienced at home with my dad. Mustang ruffled my hair hard, making me fall over on the couch onto my side before he sat down at his desk.

"Hey, chief," Havoc said suddenly. "D'ya think we should tell the Lt. Colonel about this?"

The Colonel shook his head quickly. "No. I don't want to drag him into another mess. He has a family."

Havoc clicked his tongue against the roof of his tongue in disagreement. "Yeah, well, so do we, and ya don't see us pussying out."

"That's because you're my subordinates," Mustang replied with a smirk. "You don't have a choice."

"Sir," Riza spoke up from her desk, which I hadn't even seen her move to. "Don't you think you should be preparing for your battle with Edward?"

Mustang chuckled. "I don't see the need to prepare, Lt.. I may as well give him a chance."

_'Oh boy,'_ I thought from my position on the couch. _'This is going to be one helluva fight.'_

**A/N: **Like it? Love it? Hate it? REVIEWS MAKE ME CRY TEARS OF JOY! Flames make me…..well, let's not go there. ~Sketch


	10. The Assessment

** A/N:** Here's the next chapter! :D Wow…ten chapters. And I'm not even half-done with this story yet xDD My guess is that when I finish it, there will be at least thirty or so chapters. Or forty, you never know.

**Disclaimer:** Yep, I totally own FMA. Just like I own the entire universe. Sorry, kiddies, but Arakawa's not giving up FMA anytime soon.

_**The Assessment**_

"Well," Mustang said as Riza, Havoc and I followed him obediently through the halls of Central HQ, towards the parade grounds. "You can't say I didn't try to protect the kid."

When the time had come for Mustang to head down to the parade grounds, he made Riza and Havoc go with him. I was supposed to stay behind with the rest of his men, but I said I'd rather go and watch the show. Plus, I really wanted to hear the miniskirt line in person.

"But I'll dutifully obey my orders," the dark-haired man continued with that smirk of his. "Well, at least until _I_ become Fuhrer and every one of them is obeying _me_."

"Be more discreet about those declarations, sir," Riza warned him. "Some would call them treason."

"She's right, chief. It's a presumptuous thing to say. You got a death wish or somethin'?" Havoc asked with a crooked smile.

Mustang halted the moment Havoc said 'death wish'. The two lieutenants exchanged a glance and I curled my toes to keep myself from jumping up and down in excitement.

"That's a stupid question, Havoc," Mustang growled. "I say it because it's true. And when I'm Fuhrer, there will be changes." The Colonel whirled around, leaning forward on his right leg as though he was doing a lunge. He placed his right hand in a fist on his hip, while his other hand punched the air. "THAT DAY, ALL FEMAL OFFICERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR…TINY MINISKIRTS!"

Riza stared at him in shock before she let out a sigh—of disappointment or annoyance, I couldn't tell—while Havoc's cigarette dropped from his gaping mouth. He darted forward and latched onto Mustang's leg.

"You're a miracle, Mustang! I'll follow you for the rest of my life!" he cried.

"Yes!"

Riza grabbed my sleeve and pulled me along, passed the two men.

"Does this always happen?" I asked, once we were out of earshot.

"He normally doesn't go around shouting it, no. But he's mentioned it a few times before," she added with another sigh as she placed her fingers on her forehead.

I only grinned in response; I thought it was pretty funny, as millions of other FMA fans did.

Roy and Havoc jogged to catch up to us with goofy looks on their faces. Riza rolled her eyes and shot me a look that said _'You see what I have to live with?'_

I shrugged in return. I would much rather deal with a bunch of goofy guys like them all day instead of sitting in school.

There were double doors at the end of the hall, and I could see the wide space of the parade grounds stretching out from the doors. Roy stepped ahead of us and pushed them open carelessly, stepping out into the middle of the field. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded the field, watching him as he entered. Riza and Havoc followed closely behind him, and right as I was about to go with them, Riza stopped me.

"It'd be better if you stayed here," she explained. "Things might get nasty, and when they do, you don't want to be in the way. Havoc and I don't plan on staying out there, either. Once it starts, we'll come back here. Okay?"

I hesitated, about to protest. Then I realized that arguing would be pointless, unless I wanted to look stupid. So I nodded and leaned against the wall by the doors, waiting patiently while they followed Mustang out to the center of the field.

It was only when they reached the center of the field that I spotted Ed, Al, and Hughes. There was a large….wall? I squinted. It looked like there was a big wall behind Hughes. Then it hit me; that was no wall. It was a picture of his daughter. I sighed and rolled my eyes. That guy was _way_ too obsessed with his kid.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He shouted into a mic, stepping forward into a puddle a water. I noticed then that the rain had stopped, and it was now clear out. "Welcome to the Eastern Command center festival! A guaranteed break from that soldier grind! Incidentally, take a look." Hughes pulled on the rope hanging down from the huge poster behind him. The cover on it slid off and slumped to the ground in a heap.

On the poster was a large picture of an overly happy girl hugging a giant teddy bear. "My daughter, who turned three this year! Isn't she adorable?"

Soldiers yelled in protest and began throwing multiple objects at the large poster. A well thrown broom from the back hit it in the top right corner and it slowly began to tip over. Hughes turned around, and once he realized that he was in the poster's shadow, he panicked.

"Oh no! Don't fall on Daddy, Elysiaaaa!" I chuckled as Hughes was crushed under the poster.

He got right back out, though, and quickly regained his composure. "And now," he shouted into the mic, finger pointed skywards. "Without further distraction, we move directly to today's main event! In the red corner, the Flame Alchemist and hero of the Eastern Rebellion..." He turned and pointed at Mustang, Havoc—no, wait. That was Falman standing there. Havoc must've switched places with him—and Riza. "Colonel Roy Mustang! Give it up!"

Well, the crowd certainly gave it to him. It was all a bunch of boos and yelling.

"You just want a promotion!"

"Give me back my girlfriend!"

"In the blue corner," the Lt. Colonel continued. "The Fullmetal Alchemist and living legend of the people..." Hughes turned and pointed to Ed and Al, who were situated on the other side of the field, opposite to Mustang. "Let's hear it for Edward Elric!"

This was also met with yelling.

"What? Where? I can't see him!"

"Good luck, bean sprout!"

Ed's face was dark with anger as he tried to contain his rage. He lost it at the bean sprout comment, though.

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL!" He screamed, thrashing against his brother's strong hold on him. "I'LL BREAK DOWN YOUR FEET AND STICK 'EM ON YOUR HEAD!"

"Calm down," Al sighed.

Then Ed leaned over, rocking back and forth like he was going to puke or something. His mouth was moving and his lips were twisted into a cold smirk, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Al was talking back to him.

All of a sudden, Ed stood upright with a clenched fist. "I TOLD YOU, A FIST IN HIS FACE!" He cried out with a wicked grin. I sighed. So _that's _what they were talking about.

It was then I noticed the field's center was empty, except for Mustang, Ed and Hughes. I panicked inwardly for a minute and started looking around, only to find that Riza was standing beside me. I hadn't even noticed her approach. She caught my eye and gave a small smile before turning her attention back to the field.

A slight breeze had swept in, and now that I thought about it, the scene reminded me of an old western showdown.

"This assessment means nothing to me," Ed said to Mustang. "If I win, you tell me all you know about Marcoh. And let's not forget, you'll have a new cat."

Mustang said nothing in return, and though I couldn't see his face from where I was positioned behind him, I knew he was smirking.

"Alchemists get seettttttt!" Hughes said into the microphone before standing straight and giving a small bow. Then he turned right around and sprinted into the audience for cover. "Fight!"

Ed stared after him in confusion before turning to Mustang. "What!"

"Too slow," Mustang said, snapping his fingers. The ground around Ed exploded, sending him flying backwards onto his knees.

"Dammit! That was a cheap shot!"

Mustang snapped twice more. Ed managed to get far enough from the first shot by running, but the second shot got him and he was sent falling forward once again.

"A soldier favors haste over cleverness," Mustang told him. "That means there are no cheap shots, Edward. Strike quickly and you'll end it quickly, too!"

The Colonel kept snapping, sending bursts of flames at Ed which he avoided by running and screaming. Eventually he ran into the crowd and squeezed in between Fuery and Havoc. "Sorry!" he apologized as he pushed them out of the way and hid in the crowd.

Mustang stopped firing and calmly walked over to the crowd. "Well, I guess I can't torch you all...this is hard! He's such a small target!" He shouted loudly in a mocking voice.

Ed jumped up from a side of the crowd left of Mustang. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SMALL!"

"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate and never fall for an enemy's taunts," he stated calmly as he fired at the Fullmetal Alchemist. The soldiers' faces went pale as the shot came at them. The explosion sent several soldiers flying while the rest scattered.

The smoke was blocking my view, but as it cleared I could see Mustang gaping at a stone dummy that had Ed's coat on.

"Ah!"

"TAKE THAT!"

Even more smoke cleared, allowing me the sight of Ed tearing through Mustang's glove with his arm, which he'd transmuted into a sword of sorts.

"Without that glove, you can't make flames anymore, can ya?" Ed asked as he clapped his hands together and pressed them to the ground.

A nearly blinding bright blue light erupted from the ground as he touched it. I rubbed my eyes, and when I opened them, Ed was perched atop a huge canon made from stone.

That's when Mustang pulled his left hand out of his pocket, which was also gloved. Ed screamed. Mustang snapped at the canon, exploding it in a huge burst that nearly made my eardrums pop.

Ed went flying off and landed in a heap on the ground. He coughed hard and sat up, only to find Mustang looming over him.

"All war is deception. Think your enemy has a weakness and it becomes his strength. Remember that."

"Just end it," Ed growled.

"You don't have to ask." Mustang raised his left arm, ready to snap when he suddenly gasped. I stole a glance at Riza, hoping for some explanation. There was a sympathetic frown on her face.

I turned back to the fight to see that it was over. The Fuhrer was informing them that they would have to clean up. Now that was definitely something I did _not _want to sit through.

XoXoXoX

_Click!_

I closed the door behind me in Riza's bathroom. It wasn't bad; I guess that's only because I'd been expecting worse, though.

Nothing exciting happened during the time that Mustang and Ed cleaned up their mess; I hung out in the office with the guys while Riza and Al waited patiently for them to finish out side. They finished around five or so and Ed and Al left right after. Mustang still had some paperwork to do, though, so Riza and I stayed back with him for an hour longer before we went home. Then I'd decided to take a shower, which leads us here.

There was a small sink hanging under a mirror. To the right of the mirror was a cabinet, which I assumed contained medicine, tooth brushes, and other bathroom-y items. All in all, the bathroom wasn't top-notch material (the pipes on the sink were a little rusty), but it wasn't an outhouse, either.

After stripping I stepped into the small shower, drawing the curtains closed behind me. My hand hovered over the knob momentarily before giving it a sharp twist to the left. I sighed in content as steaming warm water cascaded down on me—

Yeah, I wish that happened.

Instead, I got blasted with so-cold-you'd-swear-it-came-all-the-way-from-Antarctica water.

I screamed when it hit me and jumped out of the shower, grabbing the towel off the rack and cocooning myself inside of it.

"What the hell!" I snarled. The shock of it was beginning to irritate me.

The door burst open behind me with a loud 'bam'. I turned to find myself staring down the barrel of Riza's gun. Her eyes were blazing with something along the lines of 'Imma mess you up'. But that was quickly replaced with confusion, then understanding as she clicked the safety back on and lowered her weapon.

"Cold water?" she asked simply.

"Yeah," I muttered. "What the hell is with that? I checked the knob. I turned it to the warm side of—"

Riza chuckled.

"What?" I growled.

"The water's going to need a minute to warm up, is all."

"Oh."

XoXoXoX

I sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for Riza to finish showering so we could eat dinner. I played with Hayate, who Riza now owned. She was a scary owner. She fired shots at him when he peed on the wall in the office, claiming that he had a 'strict mommy' now. I sighed and rolled him over onto his back, scratching his belly. He thumped his hind leg in response. I grinned.

I'd owned a dog once—a pomeranian—but we had to give him away because of my little brother terrorizing him.

The familiar wave of homesickness swept over me again and I cringed. I couldn't let it get to me too much. I had to stay focused. I had a mission to work on—

"Shit!" I gasped, leaping to my feet. "The note!"

I ran to the washing machine in the hallway, were Riza had told me she put my clothes. _'Oh God,' _I thought. _'Please tell me she didn't wash them.'_ I grimaced and popped open the door on the machine, bracing myself for the worst. Well, the machine wasn't running. That was good, right?

I reached in and felt something…damp. My heart sank as I peeled my jeans off the inside wall of the machine and pulled the out. She already washed them.

**A/N:** From here on out, the story will follow the manga/Brotherhood storyline. I might do episode 37 as an omake chapter, but that's it. Reviews are love! Flames are not! ~Sketch


	11. The Plan part 2

** A/N: **I thought this chapter was longer (it felt more like 3,000 words than 1,000), but I guess not xDD Sorry again for updating so late…I really need to get used to these deadlines. I kind of regret setting them, to be honest lD; (FYI for all you n00bs out there: I set a deadline a while back so that I would post a chapter every Sunday. Haven't met a single one of those deadlines so far lmao. On a side note: LOL WORD COUNTS N00B AS A WORD XD)

**Disclaimer:** Usual disclaimer applies~~

_**The Plan part 2**_

Okay, so I was kinda screwed. No, not 'kinda'. I was most definitely screwed. Unless that card magically made it out alive, I was screwed.

I reached into the butt pocket of my jeans and pulled out a crinkled, wet paper. The card. My heart sank even further. So screwed.

I unfolded the wet card and looked inside, preparing myself for the absolute worst. Luck wasn't on my side today. Inside, the writing was smeared. I cursed under my breath and threw the jeans back in the washing machine, slamming the door shut. Then I trudged over to the kitchen and threw the card on the counter.

This was usually how things went with me. I thought things were going smoothly, and then I made some stupid mistake and messed everything up. I let out a long sigh and leaned back against the wall, staring at the wet, crinkled lump on the counter. _'Maybe I can still make out some of it,' _I thought, trying to reassure myself. I picked up the card and opened it again. The writing was smeared (why the hell did Riza have to write in pen?) but I could faintly make out what it said.

"It's not much," I muttered under my breath. "But it's better than nothing. Things could be much worse."

"What's that?"

I whirled around, crinkling the card into a ball and hiding it in a fist behind my back. Riza was standing there in pajamas, running a brush through her long, wet blonde hair. Today was definitely not going my way.

"What's what?" I asked lamely.

"That...thing. It's behind your back."

I quickly stuffed the crumpled ball into the waistband of my (well, Riza's, actually. I was just borrowing them) pajama pants. Then I put my hand on my hip and scratched my head with the other. "What thing?"

"That...oh, never mind," Riza sighed in defeat. Then she walked over to the small fridge in the kitchen and opened it. "What should we have?"

"Food," I replied with a smirk. "Preferably something edible."

Riza shot me a look. "You know what I mean."

I grinned and shrugged. "Depends. What do you have?"

The blonde sharpshooter paused and looked through the fridge before replying. "We have stuff for sandwiches..." She closed the fridge and poked through each of the cabinets. Obviously, she didn't find an alternative because she had a defeated look on her face when she finished her search.

"Sandwiches are fine," I assured her.

Riza sighed and shook her head as she went back to the fridge to grab sandwich stuff. "I'll have to go to the store tomorrow…"

_'Oh no you won't,' _I thought with a sly smirk. _'You'll be too busy with Mustang.'_

XoXoXoX

After dinner (which was ham sandwiches) I managed to convince Riza to let me stay up a little late so I could 'draw'. I got a suspicious look, but she gave me an hour to 'draw' while she went to bed. Now I sat on the couch, wrapped up in two blankets, leaning back against a pillow with a notebook in hand. Riza dug it up for me and ripped out whatever notes were in it (which were mostly just grocery lists).

I dug the card out of the gap in between the cushions on the couch and unfolded it. I'd stuffed it in there while Riza had been making sandwiches.

I squinted, trying to make out the handwriting in the dim light of the lamp on the small table next to the couch. It was fairly smeared, but, as I stated earlier, it was better than nothing. Things could be much worse, after all. The card could've easily been torn in the washing machine, or the writing could've been smeared beyond recognition.

But it wasn't. And that had to count for something.

I sighed and picked up the pen which was, again, an old-styled pen. I still wasn't used to them, either. Oh joy.

Riza's handwriting, was, from what I could tell, very cursive-ish. _'Shouldn't be too hard,' _I thought. I studied the writing for a moment longer before putting my pen to the paper and writing. I also remembered how her handwriting looked from when I'd seen it earlier, so that helped a lot.

_'Mustang,' _I wrote at the top of the paper, _'Central Park tonight at 7. -Lt. Hawkeye'_. I signed her name in a flourish, feeling satisfied with my work. I tucked the paper into my pillow case and drew a quick line on my hand as a reminder. That would seriously suck if I forgot it after all that trouble.

XoXoXoX

After I turned the lamp off, I had no trouble getting to sleep at all. I even managed to wake up on time the next morning (which pleased Riza).

Once we reached the building, I started worrying when I didn't see Hughes where we'd bumped into him last time. What if he forgot? What if he didn't show up?

Tch, yeah, like Hughes would miss this. I just had to wait and be patient. The little bugger would pop up sooner or later.

And, soon enough, once we reached the office, its wooden door burst open, sending a gust of air our way. I could practically feel the 'obsessive father' waves mixed in with it. Sure enough, the obsessive—no, I scratch that. Over-obsessive is more like it—father himself exited the office. He grinned when he saw us and headed straight over.

"G'morning, Lt. Hawkeye!" Riza saluted with a curt 'sir'. Hughes gave me a look like 'can you believe this woman?'. I shrugged in return.

"Oh!" Hughes cried suddenly after making eye contact with me. "That reminds me! I have some pictures of Elysia to show you, Bronwynnn~~!"

I let an exaggerated sigh and gave Riza a defeated look. "Go on without me, Riza. I'll be there in a bit." She didn't waste any time getting inside the office and closing the door sharply behind her.

Hughes pouted. "Am I really _that_ bad?"

I shrugged, letting a smirk crawl onto my lips. "Not at all, sir." He grinned. "You're far worse." His grin fell into a discouraged frown.

"Anyways," I continued, pulling the note from my back pocket, "I have the note." I waved said note at him.

"Great! I got mine, too. Do you have the card?"

I swallowed. "Er…right…about that…I left it in my jeans and Riza washed them."

Hughes let out a sigh. "I should've figured as much….it's okay, though, so long as you were able to copy her handwriting, which I'm assuming you were."

I gave a firm nod. "Yup. The writing was a little smeared, but I think I did a good job." He pulled out his note and we exchanged. I stuffed the note into my back pocket, replacing the place where the other one had been while he examined my work.

"Not bad," he told me with a grin. "I can hardly tell the difference!" I smirked proudly and headed into the office. The Lt. Colonel bid me farewell and went his own way. Upon entering, I was met with the sympathetic looks of Riza, Breda, and Fuery.

"Sorry, the Lt. Colonel is just….he's…" Riza trailed off, unable to find the right words.

"Over-obsessed," Breda finished for her. The blonde woman nodded in agreement.

I chuckled as I took a temporary seat at Havoc's vacant desk. "It's okay," I assured them. "I think I'll live."

For the next ten minutes, the only sound that filled the air was the sound of pencils and pens scratching on paper and the shuffling of files. Then I stood, catching Riza's eye.

"Yes, Bronwyn?" She asked. "What is it?"

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh," she said, standing and moving towards me. "Let me show yo—"

I held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks. "No, it's fine. I'm probably going to be stuck here for a while, so I need to learn my way around. Is there a map I can use?"

Riza raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she opened the drawer of her desk. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me wordlessly. I nodded to her in thanks and made my way out the door, shutting it gently behind me before unfolding the map. It was folded like a brochure.

"Hm," I mumbled to myself as my murky brown eyes scanned the drawing. "So…the locker rooms are over in the other building, near the shooting range."

"Yes, it would appear so."

I whirled around to find meet a pair of onyx eyes peering curiously over my shoulder. "Whatcha' got there?" Mustang asked.

"A map," I replied nonchalantly. Mustang rolled his eyes in response.

"I can see that," he snorted. "But what is it a map of?"

"Central HQ. I had to go to the bathroom and asked Riza for a map to help me find my way."

The dark-haired man rubbed his chin suspiciously. "Then why were you observing the locker rooms?"

"I was merely making note of them," I replied with a shrug. I prayed that I wouldn't stutter. "The bathrooms _are_ right next to them, after all." I was too busy giving myself a mental pat on the back to see the flaw in my statement. And, of course, who else would point out my mistake besides Colonel Bastard (Ed had good taste in insults. Even though Mustang was my favorite character in the series besides Riza, he could be such an ass sometimes) himself?

"Funny," he said with that smirk of his that I was growing to loathe, "I thought there were bathrooms in this building. So why go all the way to the shooting range?"

I swallowed hard and gave him a weak smile. "W-well…I know I shouldn't be, but…I figured that as long as I'm here, I might as well learn my way around and get used to the place, right?"

Mustang narrowed his eyes at me as though having a hard time deciding whether I was telling the truth or not.

"Just don't tell Riza, okay? She'd probably be mad at me and lecture me about goofing off or something…"

The smirk crawled back onto his lips and this time it was welcomed. "Alright," he said, stepping into the office. "I'll keep it to myself."

I grinned and waved before walking down the hallway in the opposite direction.

XoXoXoX

The walk to the shooting range seemed to take _forever_. I kept glancing over my shoulder, half expecting to see Riza standing there with her gun. Or Mustang with his gloves. Or, God forbid, both of them. Thankfully, I didn't see the two.

I peeked into the locker room. It was empty, aside from maybe three or four women who were changing. It was as I was strolling down the aisles that I realized something.

I had no idea which locker belonged to Riza.

Thankfully, though, each locker had the last name of their owners written on their doors. It couldn't be that hard finding her name, right? My only problem would be trying to look inconspicuous.

I crept my way down the aisles, trying not to get caught or be too loud. I skipped the aisles that the women were in. And then, finally, on the second to last aisle, I found it. 'Hawkeye' was written on it in all capital, strict black letters.

I pulled the note Hughes wrote out of my back pocket and stuffed it inside the crack on where the locker's door opened. It slid in easily, bringing a smile to my face. _'Finally,' _I thought, _'Things are going my way.'_

Little did I know, I had just seriously jinxed myself.

**A/N: **Reviews mean more than faves do! (in other words, AT LEAST TRY TO REVIEW MY STORY IF YOU FAVE/FOLLOW IT. I feel like such a hypocrite for saying that…xD) ~Sketch


	12. The Plan part 3

** A/N:** Only a few days behind the deadline! :D I'm sorry for making you guys wait…I'm terrible at updating regularly. This is the last part of 'The Plan' parts. Hope you like it!

I went back over and read the whole story a few times today, and I caught quite a few mistakes that need to be fixed. I'll go back and fix them, no worries c:

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA.

_**The Plan part 3**_

I slipped out of the locker room and hurried back to the office as quickly as I could. They'd surely noticed how long I'd been 'in the bathroom' by now. Hopefully they wouldn't get the wrong idea…

…but, judging from the looks on their faces when I walked in, my entire body trembling from the excitement of doing something so daring, it was far too late.

"So," Falman coughed. "You were…in the bathroom?"

The guys giggled like school girls while Riza and the Colonel continued working as though nothing had happened. I shot daggers at them.

"Yes, I was. But," I paused, glancing at Mustang. "I ran into a soldier and asked for some help because I couldn't understand the map."

Mustang looked up and smirked knowingly. "Does this soldier happen to go by the name of 'Aunt Flow'?"

I flinched and snarled, "N-no!" The men began laughing hysterically. My face turned beat red. Riza simply sighed and pushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Really, sir," she said in that utterly monotone voice, "You should be careful about what you say." The lieutenant patted her holster with a mischievous glint in her eye. That shut them up.

I found myself growing extremely anxious for the day to be over as silence descended upon the room once again. I slid back down against the wall near Riza's desk, bringing my knees up close to my body and drumming my fingers on my knee impatiently. I kept glancing up at the clock hanging on the wall, watching time slowly drag by.

Now, maybe this is the part of the story that you find boring. So you'll go and find something much more interesting and productive to do. Not that I can blame you. I spent the entire day sitting against that wall; I _did_ run a few errands, but they were pretty small.

So, just to save both of us from some extremely boring parts in this story, I'll just skip over them.

XoXoXoX

It was when Riza returned from the shooting range during lunch that things got exciting (or less boring). Her face was slightly flushed, and—at first—I suspected it was from working hard and training. But then I spotted a familiar slip of paper she was clutching in her left hand.

I've gone through a lot of crap in my life. Well, it's life; it has its ups and downs. I've gone through my share of hard stuff.

But keeping a straight face and not running around in circles and squealing like a total doofus?

That was, by far, the most difficult challenge I've ever faced.

So I bit down hard on my bottom lip (so hard that the familiar metallic tang of blood crept into my mouth) and buried my face in my knees. Riza didn't seem to notice and walked right past me, tapping Mustang's desk with a nervous cough. I peeked out from my knees, keeping my mouth hidden. Mustang was looking up at her with a trace of confusion in his eyes.

"Yes, Lt.?" He asked.

"Sir." She paused, and my grin turned into a frown as anger began to glow in her caramel eyes. "You're a complete idiot," Riza growled at him.

Mustang's eyes widened in slight shock. "W-what?"

"Never mind," she snapped irritably. The blonde woman crinkled the note into a ball and stuffed it into her pocket before taking a seat at her desk and resuming her work. Mustang glanced over at me with a confused look. I shrugged, acting like I didn't know why she was upset.

It was partially true. I really _didn't_ know what was making her mad. But I had a vague idea of what it might be.

Riza was angry at Roy for giving her the note because they couldn't have a relationship (frat laws). Not only that, but having a relationship could put them both in danger. They would automatically become each other's weakness and therefore be targeted.

Wait…then why was I trying to get them together? I could end up getting them both killed! Guilt began gnawing away at my heart, which was currently drowning in a sea of regret. What if I screwed up the story line? Well, I'd actually messed it up some already just by coming here, but that wasn't my fault.

Mustang actually got his work done early (surprising, I know) so we didn't have to stay after. As Riza and I were walking home, I decided to ask her about the note.

"So," I began, "What was all of that earlier?"

"What was all of what?" Riza asked, not looking at me.

"You know what I'm talking about." I shot her a look.

The Lt. hesitated for a moment before heaving a sigh. "Alright, fine. Look at this." She pulled the note out of her pocket and handed it over to me. It was still crinkled into a ball. I unfolded it and read Hughes's writing, which was just the opposite of what I had written. I feigned surprise and grinned up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You're going, right?" I asked excitedly.

"I don't think so…I'd rather not leave you alone…and there's no one who can watch you…"

"What about the Lt. Colonel?"

Riza frowned. "I suppose he could if I asked, but…I'd rather not bother him…"

I rolled my eyes. "Riza. It's _Hughes_."

"Good point," she agreed. "But still…I feel kind of bad about bugging him."

I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look me in the eye. "Riza, quit being so damn stubborn and just go on a date with him already!" I snapped.

The woman blinked slowly. I guess she was shocked by my sudden outburst. Can't blame her, though. I was a little surprised, too. But I wasn't about to let my efforts go to waste. Roy and Riza belonged together. End. Of. Story.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Okay. I'll call him."

XoXoXoX

"Bye," I said to Riza as I stepped into Hughes's house. "Good luck with your date!" Riza just nodded before walking away, Black Hayate at her heels. Hughes ruffled my hair roughly and ushered me inside.

"I can't believe it worked!" He squealed once he shut the door. "They're finally going on a date!"

I didn't share his joy. Well, I did, but not at the moment. I glared up at him irritably. "You owe me for this. Big time." Even though Riza had agreed to call Hughes, she waited until the very last minute to do so because she 'forgot'. It took at least half an hour to convince her to call him and go on the date. I promised her that I would make sure she went on the date by asking Mustang about it the next day. That woman could so freaking stubborn sometimes.

"Hello." A woman's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I looked to my right to see Gracia standing there with Elysia clinging onto her leg. I smiled softly.

"Hi," I said politely. "I'm Bronwyn, Riza's niece. You can call me Bryn."

Gracia nodded and Elysia ducked behind the woman's legs shyly. I chuckled and kneeled down to the girl's level, stretching out my hand. "Don't worry," I assured her as she hesitated to shake my hand. "I won't bite."

The three-year-old paused, glancing up at her mother, who nodded, before taking my hand and shaking it. I grinned as I released her and stood. "See? That wasn't so bad."

She grinned back and giggled. "Alright, Elysia," Gracia said. "It's time for bed."

"But Momma!" Elysia protested, stretching her green eyes wide. "I wanna stay up wif Bwyn!"

"No buts," her mother replied, leading her down the hallway to the right of the door. Once they were out of earshot, the Lt. Colonel grinned at me.

"Isn't she adorable?" He asked excitedly, clasping his hands together.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, she's cute."

"You seem to have experience with small children," Hughes continued, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I have a little brother," I informed him with an eye roll. He smirked.

"How old?"

"Seven," I sighed. "He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. You think he'd be more mature…"

The man laughed and scratched his head, messing up his slicked back hair. "I guess they never change, huh?"

"Tell me about it," I nodded, laughing along with him.

"I hope you had dinner," Hughes said as he lead me into the kitchen, which actually felt pretty big. I guess that's only because Riza's is so small, though. "Because we already ate an hour ago."

"I ate," I told him with a quick nod. Riza, however, hadn't eaten because she said she wasn't hungry.

There was a long (and rather pathetic) moment of silence as Hughes prepared some coffee for himself. As he was pouring the dark, good-smelling liquid into his mug, he spoke. "So," he began, "You're not from Central, are you?"

"That obvious, huh?" I asked with a nervous grin. "Yeah, I'm not from here. I'm from…" I paused, quickly running down a list of places I could live in. There was always Xing, but I didn't look Xingese and I couldn't speak the language. I could always say I'd moved there for specific reasons, but…it would be better to go with a place that I had memory of from the anime/manga. "…East. East City."

"East? Riza used to be stationed down there, didn't she?"

"Yeah," I said, hoping I hadn't responded too quickly. "She used to come visit me."

"So, how'd you get dragged here?" He asked curiously.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "We haven't seen each other since she moved, so Mom said I could come and stay with her for a while."

Hughes's eyebrow rose as he lifted the mug to his lips. "What about school?"

"I'm homeschooled," I lied. School…damn, I'd have A LOT of catching up to do once I got back.

If I got back.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Bryn?" Hughes asked after a moment, breaking my thoughts. I leaned back on the counter behind me and grinned at him.

"I want to be an author," I said proudly.

"Really? I thought you would've wanted to be an artist. What with all the drawing you do." It was all I did while I was in the office. Well, there was nothing else to do; they rarely had any errands for me to run.

"Eh," I replied. "I really like drawing, but I don't think I want to do it as a career. Writing is more my element."

The man nodded in understanding, taking another sip of his coffee. "I get where you're coming from. I always wanted to be a lawyer, but," He paused, thinking for a moment. "The military looked much more exciting, I guess."

"Do ever regret it?" I asked suddenly in a quiet voice.

"Regret what?" The Lt. Colonel asked, confusion painted on his face.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to say anything that would kill the mood, but I was curious. "Do you regret joining the military?"

A sharp breath was inhaled and the man slowly placed his mug down on the counter, before adjusting his glasses. "Honestly?" I waited. "I wish I would've stuck to becoming a lawyer. But," he added with a soft smile, "If I hadn't have joined the military, then I wouldn't have met Gracia…or Roy, or anyone else. So I guess that cancels out whatever regrets I do have."

"Good." We both turned our heads toward the hallway entrance to see Gracia standing there, a smile gracing her lips. She walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck briefly to give him a quick peck on the lips, to which he responded to by snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. I stood by and watched, awkwardly brushing my bangs of my face with a hand (something I tended to do when I was embarrassed). My inner romantic was gushing over the adorableness of the couple, and I wondered silently why I hadn't paid much attention to them before. Probably because they were too cannon.

"Sorry," Gracia told me with an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to make things awkward."

"It's okay," I assured her, once again brushing my bangs of my eyes. "I don't mind."

Hughes squealed and snuggled his wife closer to his chest (I was surprised she didn't suffocate). "Isn't she the sweetest?" He exclaimed.

Gracia responded by swiftly putting her finger to her husband's lips to silence him. "Shush," she scolded. "Elysia is sleeping!"

I chuckled to myself at the scene; they really were cute.

XoXoXoX

Two hours passed without much excitement (it was a pretty boring day). The three of us sat in the living room and talked about normal, everyday things; the weather, Ed's assessment, current military problems (though Hughes tried to avoid talking about the military), and how our days had gone. Gracia asked how Riza was, and what my relation to her was. I told her she was doing well and that she was my aunt (or my mother's sister). Gracia responded by saying she didn't know that Riza had relatives.

The chat idly drifted along.

Until the phone rang.

I will never, ever, forget the horrid ringing sound.

Hughes stood and went into the kitchen. Gracia and I listened as the phone was picked up off of its hook, and as Hughes answered it with a cheery 'hello'. There was a long, dreadful silence that seemed to drag on, until he burst out, "What! …Okay. I'll be there in a minute."

The man's normal joyful sparkle in his dark green eyes had been replaced with shock and fear when he returned to the living room. Gracia darted to his side and asked what was going on. He didn't reply and instead turned his mournful gaze on me, worriedly.

"Yes?" I asked. My heart was beginning to race.

"Riza's been shot."

**A/N:** Someone asked me (sarcastically) if I liked leaving off at good parts on the previous chapter. I gotta keep you guys hooked somehow, right?

…Although, I must admit, I'm afraid you'll all gang up, hunt me down, and force me to post the next chapter right away with this cliffhanger xDD

Please review! Your reviews are what keep me writing c: ~Sketch


	13. Date Gone Horribly Wrong

** A/N: **Updated pretty fast, huh? :D I got eaten by the writing rainbow last night and barfed this up. Pretty short, but eh. I recently got the FMA Profiles book! So happy. Less than three (heart)!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own FMA, and I'm pretty sure I never will.

_**Date Gone Horribly Wrong**_

_"Ah." Riza turned to see her superior standing behind her, dressed casually. The dim lighting of the lamp posts seemed to set a fiery glow in his eyes, illuminating his figure. She couldn't help but notice that he smelt strongly of cologne, and found resisting the urge to wrinkle her nose quite difficult. "Good evening, Lt.." A smirk adorned his lips, and she couldn't help but to smile awkwardly in return._

_ Hayate was no longer with her; she dropped him off at home before forcing her feet to move in the direction of the park._

_ "I got your note." The blonde woman flinched at this. But hadn't he been the one to invite her? Unless…_

_ "Sir," Riza sighed. "I believe we've been set up." Mustang raised an eyebrow in confusion and his smirk bent downwards into a frown. She explained. "I got a note from you, in my locker."_

_ "That's where I found my note," he sighed. Then he quickly added, "I mean, in my locker, not in your locker."_

_ Silence hung in the air as they both mentally ran through a list of possible suspects for this mischievous prank. They each worked their way down the list, until there were only two suspects remaining._

_ "Hughes," The Colonel growled right as she said, "Bronwyn."_

_ The two officers looked at each other before nodding in agreement. "Hughes and Bronwyn," they decided in unison._

_ "Well," the dark-haired man said, running a hand through his messy hair. "We might as well enjoy the time we have while we have it, hmm?" A smirk snuck daringly onto his face._

_ Riza let out a light sigh before nodding. "I suppose so."_

_ The Colonel kept pace with his subordinate as they walked along the park's pathway. An awkward silence hung thickly in the air, preventing their voices from working. What were they supposed to talk about? Should they converse about work? The military? Should they simply make small talk and comment on the weather? Although the time they spent alone together was nothing new, it was rather rare. Neither wanted to spoil it._

_ Roy, of course, was focused on doing his best to make it the best date possible. Wait. Had he just called this stroll in the park a date? His brow furrowed, but he shook it off. It might as well have been a date._

_ So, being the gentleman that the Colonel was, he let out a yawn, stretching his arms, and then wrapping one around his lieutenant's shoulders._

_ "Sir," she sighed. "That's the oldest and cheapest trick in the book."_

_ He grinned down at her. "Yeah, but you're not pushing me away. So mission accomplished." That earned him an eye roll, but no protests._

_ As they continued down the path, it began to grow darker. There were less and less lamp posts as they went. They were soon enveloped in complete darkness, aside from the faint glow of the city._

_ "Not to be rude, sir," Riza said, catching Roy's attention. "But you really don't need so much cologne. In fact, you don't really need any at all." He chuckled as she wrinkled her nose._

_ "I'll remember that," he laughed. He smirked down at her. "What'd you do with the art freak, anyway?"_

_ "Bronwyn?" Roy nodded. "I left her with Hughes. She suggested that I get him to watch her; figures, I know."_

_ Her superior chuckled again and gave her arm a quick squeeze. "Those two make a sneaky pair. We'd better be more careful from now on, Lt.." The blonde smiled up at him softly, nodding in agreement._

_ That was when the bushes behind them rustled. It was so faint that only Riza heard it. She instinctively whirled around, freeing herself from her superior's grasp, hand on her holster._

_ "What is it, Hawkeye?" Roy asked seriously, glancing around. He knew they were in danger._

_ She didn't answer. "Come out," Riza called to the bushes. "And I won't hurt you."_

_ There was a long pause before the person stumbled out clumsily. In the dim glow of the city, Riza could tell that it was a man—an intoxicated man, no less. She removed her gun from her holster and aimed it at him, waiting for the Colonel's orders. Mustang moved to stand at his subordinate's side._

_ "Who are you?" Roy demanded, fumbling through his pocket for his gloves. Damn. They weren't there!_

_ "You, sir," the man growled, his words slurred. He pointed at Mustang with a shaky finger. "You know who I am."_

_ "Do I?" Roy stalled, still searching for his gloves._

_ "Yeah, you dumb bastard!" The man snarled now, moving closer. "You stole my girlfriend!"_

_ Then Roy remembered. The scruffy beard. The dark eyes. The barely-there-hair. The guy worked at a factory down in Risembool. Roy had gone there with Hawkeye some years back to recruit Fullmetal and his brother. They'd stopped at a factory while they were there, just to tour around. That man had a ginger girlfriend, whom he was very proud of. Roy, being, well, Roy, just had to butt in and prove that he was better. He acted like a gentleman towards the girl, who immediately fell for his charm and dumped her boyfriend._

_ "Oh, really?" The Colonel asked with a smirk. "She came to me, if I recall correctly."_

_ "I was going to ask for her hand," the man snapped. Mustang flinched and Riza sighed in disappointment. Roy always managed to get himself into trouble. Suddenly, the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. The Colonel inwardly groaned. Today was not a good day._

_ Riza clicked the safety off her gun and aimed it at his legs, ready to immobilize him. The metal was cold in her hands, but it wasn't unwelcomed. Especially in a situation such as this._

_ There was a moment of hesitation, and then a gun shot. Roy braced himself for the sharp, spiking pain of the bullet piercing him and squeezed his eyes shut. It never hit him. He did, however, hear a curt 'shit' and a small gasp that were followed quickly by two thuds. And before both of those, two gunshots. Roy opened his eyes cautiously._

_ Slumped on the ground at his feet was his Lt., clutching her abdomen where thick, crimson blood was spewing. The man was on the ground as well, holding his knee and cursing._

**A/N:** Meh. I got lazy towards the end xD Please review! I wouldn't be writing if it weren't for your support. ~Sketch


	14. Arising Problem

** A/N:** I was kinda up and down with this chapter xD I got lazy at some parts, and then I excelled at others. Kind of a bipolar chapter, in terms of writing style/quality. I feel bad for not meeting my deadlines, so I made this chapter long c:

Off-topic, I got Okamiden :D I had some birthday money that I was going to shove into my savings account for Sakura-Con, but…c'mon. It's OKAMI. So I gave in xD;

I heard that Okamiden was the last DS game they're making because they're moving onto making 3DS games instead. I dunno if that's true or not (I heard it from a nerd in my Spanish class), but I really hope it isn't :( It's bad enough that the Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton game is going to be for the 3DS!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA.

_**Arising Problem **_

We took no hesitation in getting to the hospital. Hughes even went over the speed limit, which really surprised me, even in my numb state.

The ride there was quiet, except for Hughes muttering and cursing under his breath as he drove. That shocked me a little, too.

We pulled up in front of the hospital and were out of the car the instant it was turned off and parked. Odd stares were given to us as we burst in and made a beeline for the desk.

"Riza Hawkeye," Hughes demanded. "Where is she?"

The nurse frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, but only officers are allowed in. She just got out of surgery half an hour ago." Hughes flashed his badge at her and she gasped in surprise. "O-oh! I'm sorry, Lt. Colonel. She's in room two-oh-four."

"Thanks," the Lt. Colonel called to her over his shoulder as he led me up the stairs of the hospital.

The stairs seemed to never end, even though I knew that was only because I felt anxious. We passed nurses and doctors rushing up and down the steps, who didn't even glance twice our way. I supposed they were used to having distraught visitors.

We finally reached the top of the seemingly never-ending staircase and hurried down the hall. I searched the right side of the hall for Riza's room while Hughes took the left. Eventually, Hughes grabbed my arm and nudged me towards her room.

Havoc was standing guard outside the door, and he managed to flash a weak smile when we approached.

"I would've called you sooner," he told Hughes, "But I got here when she was getting the bullet removed, and I figured you guys wouldn't wanna wait through it. So I called when she got out."

"Is she okay?" I asked. My voice was small and weak.

The blonde smoker bit his lip, trying to keep his smile from turning into a frown. "Go see for yourself." He opened the door for us and we went in.

Mustang was sitting next to her bed in a chair, his face buried in his hands. He looked utterly defeated. I briefly wondered if he'd been crying. And Riza?

Riza was lying in her bed, eyes closed with an IV drip hooked up to her arm. She looked extremely pale (I guessed it must've been from blood loss) and fragile, and I feared that if I so much as breathed on her, her body would shatter.

The Colonel looked up as we shut the door gently behind us. His eyes looked like dark, lifeless, empty pits. When he realized who was standing before him, the emptiness was replaced with cold fury.

"How is she?" Hughes asked cautiously, as though he has also noticed the change in his friend's eyes.

"How is she?" Mustang repeated, raw anger threading through his voice. "How is she!" The Lt. Colonel and I stepped back as the angered man rose and marched over to us. He grabbed Hughes by the collar of his jacket.

"How the hell could you do that?" Mustang snarled in his face. "How could you set us up like that!"

"Whoa," Maes said. "I would _never_ set you guys up for something like this. You know that, Roy. I had no idea this was going to happen."

Roy let go of his friend, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I…I know." And then—to my utter horror—he turned his accusing glare on me. "You knew, though."

"N-no!" I gasped. It was true. I really didn't know Riza would be shot when I helped set them up. "I had no idea this was going to happen!"

There was a terrifying moment of silence before Mustang let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry," he apologized guiltily. "That was wrong of me." I nearly fainted from relief when the angry fire in his eyes was washed over with defeat. "I shouldn't have accused you."

"It's fine," Hughes assured him. "It was a shock to us as well." I nodded in agreement.

Mustang sat back down in his chair, resuming his previous position with his face in his hands. "I've always thought she was invincible. That it was impossible for her to get hurt." He laughed bitterly. "I was such a fool. This has only been a reminder that she can, in fact, be hurt."

"Um," I spoke up. "If you don't mind my asking…what happened, exactly?"

"Some drunk idiot from Risembool with a gun whose girlfriend I apparently stole," Mustang snorted.

"Do you regret it?" Hughes asked.

Mustang thought for a moment before shaking his head with a smirk. "Nah. She was a hot ginger. Too bad she wanted commitment."

The Lt. Colonel snorted but grinned. "Typical." I chuckled.

"So, you're saying you still would've dated her, even if you knew I would be shot?"

We all turned to Riza. Her eyes were narrowed at Roy, but they had an amused spark in them.

"N-no!" Mustang gasped. "Never!"

Riza smirked and shook her head. "You're so incompetent, Colonel." Mustang's jaw dropped.

"H-hey!" He protested. "I carried you to the hospital!"

"Didn't you drive to the park, sir? I could've sworn I saw your car." Roy flinched and slumped over.

Hughes sighed in disappointment and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me you were in such a panic you forgot about your car…"

"It w-was dark o-o-out," the Colonel managed.

Everyone laughed, and we barely even noticed when the door opened and Havoc peeked in.

"Alright," he said in amusement. "I heard laughter. Is it safe to come in now?"

XoXoXoX

Once everyone had calmed down and Havoc had joined us, Ed and Al arrived.

"Hey," Ed greeted us.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said, sounding mildly surprised. "Shouldn't you have left? To find Marcoh?"

The two brothers exchanged a glance before Ed shrugged. "We decided to hold off on it for a bit. Looks like you guys need us here." He looked at me meaningfully. I understood, as did Riza, Havoc, and Mustang. We needed them here to help get me back home. Hughes, however, assumed he was talking about the Lt. being shot.

That must've been the disguise they were aiming for, because Al said, "Speaking of which…" He extended his hands, which had been hidden behind his back up until now. In them was a small vase with four pink tulips. The armor walked over to Riza's bedside and placed them on the small table beside her bed carefully.

"Oh," Riza said, surprised. "Thank you." A small smile came to her lips.

"It's nothing, really," Ed told her. "We used to bring Mom flowers all the time when she was sick."

The blonde woman's gaze softened at the alchemists' kind gesture. I couldn't help but smile as well. It was so cute.

"So," Ed said awkwardly. "How're you feeling?"

I snorted. "Great question, Ed."

"I'm sorry," the blonde apologized frantically with a blush.

"It's okay," Riza assured him with a chuckle. "I'm feeling better now."

Ed nodded before shooting me a glare. I only smirked back. Teasing him was becoming a hobby.

"Um." We all turned around to see Fuery peeking into the room. "We need Hughes down at HQ."

Everyone exchanged glances. I guessed that Hughes—since he was part of investigations—was needed to interrogate the guy that shot Riza. I gave him a look that said 'beat the crap out of him for me'. He returned my look with a small shrug that told me 'I can't make any promises'.

After he left, I decided I should tell everyone about what I'd told Hughes so there wouldn't be any contradictions if he asked them about me.

"The Lt. Colonel asked some questions about me when I was at his house," I began. "I told him I came from East City and that I'm homeschooled. I have a seven-year-old brother and my mom is Riza's sister." Riza nodded in approval and I continued, "Riza used to come and visit me when she was stationed in the East. I'm staying with her because Mom gave me the okay to stay with her for a while."

"Sounds good," Mustang said, looking me in the eye with an eyebrow rose in suspicion. "But how do you know of East City? And how do you know that Lt. Hawkeye used to be stationed there?"

"She told me she just moved here from there my first night here," I replied evenly with a smirk. I wasn't about to go down that easily.

"Actually," Riza interjected. "I only told you I came here from East HQ. I said nothing about East City."

"I assumed that it was called East City," I retorted. "I mean, c'mon. Central HQ, Central City. Not very original, if you ask me."

Ed clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance. "So? What's your place called, huh?"

"We call it America," I informed him snootily.

"Amestris, America," the blonde huffed. "Gee, big difference."

"Oh, shut up, pipsqueak."

"You started it, you stupid art freak!"

"Did not, you flea!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

I grinned evilly. "I called you an itty bitty parasite that roams in animals' fur." A pause. "Flea."

"YOU DAMN STUPID ART NERD! I'M GONNA TRANSMUTE YOU INTO A FLEA IF YOU DON'T SHUT THE HELL UP!" He roared, thrashing at me while his younger brother held him back.

"Honestly, you two," Mustang scolded. "We're in a hospital. Even _I _have the decency not to tease Fullmetal about his height while we're here. Besides, you're going to give the Lt. a headache."

Me and Ed looked over at Riza frantically who, sure enough, was massaging her temples with her fingers with an irritated expression on her face.

We both apologized in a rush, worried about getting shot. Our apologies were said at the same time, though, so I don't think she quite understood what we were saying, but we both said 'I'm sorry' in unison at the end of our jumbled rant, so I think she got the message.

"It's okay," the sharpshooter sighed. "I understand that you're bot—"

She was cut off by the opening of the door. A nurse (the same one I'd seen at the desk earlier) peeked in cautiously and said, "Um, Colonel Mustang?" Said man stepped forward. "There's a call for you from Lt. Colonel Hughes. He says it's important."

XoXoXoX

The lively mood in the room slowly dissolved after Colonel Bastard left. We all knew that Hughes must've discovered something seriously important (well, according to the nurse, he _did_ say it was important). Otherwise, he would've waited until he returned from HQ to tell us.

So we kept quiet until Mustang returned, each of us swimming in our own thoughts.

When the Colonel did return, his expression was an unreadable one, although I thought I saw the slightest hint of dread sparkle in those dark, onyx orbs of his. The others must've noticed as well, because the atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken like a smoothie of fear and tension.

There was a slight hesitation and an intake of air before he spoke. "He asked the man some questions. Apparently, he..." An uncertain pause. "He…got transported here. By alchemy."

"Is he an alchemist?" Havoc asked, confused.

Mustang shook his head slowly. "No, he isn't. But, according to him, he met an alchemist in Risembool who he spoke with. The alchemist and him talked about their love lives, which I suppose eventually brought up the topic of his girlfriend that I 'stole'." He made little quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "The alchemist told him he could help him find me. He said that he knew where I was.

"So, he drew a transmutation circle and then, as the man told Hughes, 'there was a blinding purple light'. And then he was transported here."

"Was he sober?" Ed asked with a doubtful look.

"Yes," Mustang said with a sharp nod. "They waited until he was sober to interrogate him."

"Why was he drunk, though?" Riza asked thoughtfully. "And where did he get the gun?"

"Hughes said that the two met at a bar in Risembool," he told her. "And he said he got the gun from the alchemist."

"What kind of gun was it?"

"Hughes said it was a gun that's only given to officers."

"So he was a state alchemist?" Al asked.

Mustang shook his head. "No, I don't think we have any state alchemists that specialize in transportation. But," he added, "I'll check through some files tomorrow and do some research."

"Speaking of tomorrow," I interrupted as the thought occurred to me. "Where am I gonna stay tonight? I mean, I can't just stay in the hospital, and," I turned to Riza. "You won't let me stay by myself."

The blonde woman and her superior exchanged looks before turning back to me. "You can stay with me until Hawkeye's released," Mustang said.

**A/N: **Love it? Like it? Hate it? (And why?) I want to know what you think! Your reviews make me extremely happy. ~Sketch


	15. Confusion and Parting Ways

** A/N: **Whoa. I actually made the deadline for once! xD

Anyways, if you're a fan of Young Justice and you like Robin/Kid Flash, then I suggest you read my friend's fanfic! It's called 'Boyish Enough'. Her pen name is SuperBrownies C: Gogogo!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA. I DO own Bryn and any other OCs, however.

_**Confusion and Parting Ways**_

Mustang's couch wasn't even half as comfortable as Riza's. It was one of those couches that was meant for sitting, and sitting alone. There was a spring that was digging into my spine all night long, and no matter how many times I turned, I couldn't get cozy. As far as couches go, I'd give that one a negative ten out of ten—

Oh God. I sound like a couch critic or something. Spending time in a different world really changes a person.

Getting back to the story, I was completely wiped when I woke up in the morning. Light was streaming in through the cracks in the blinds on the window above the sink in the kitchen (the couch was facing the kitchen) and practically blinded me—

Wait.

Light?

I sat up and stared at the window, dazed. It was always dark at four in the morning, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. Out of curiosity, I stood and walked over to the window and peeked out the blinds.

Holy shit. It was broad daylight!

"Ah, you're up." I whirled around to see Colonel Bastard standing there. His hair was wet, so I assumed he took a shower. I also noticed he was dressed in his military uniform and trench coat, as if he had been getting ready to leave.

"W-what time is it?" I asked nervously.

He raised an eyebrow. "Somewhere around twelve pm. Why?"

I stared at him, my jaw dropped in shock. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"No," Mustang chuckled. "We're going to investigate the crime scene today."

XoXoXoX

Central Park was a nice place. There was a small playground and a fountain in the center that all of the pathways circled. The soft trickling sound of the water soothed my nerves and I instantly became more relaxed. Well, as relaxed as one could be at a crime scene.

I followed Mustang under the bright yellow caution tape that surrounded the park, instinctively pulling my hair back into a ponytail. I'd stolen a green hair tie from Riza's bathroom the day before and had been wearing it on my wrist the entire time, just in case I ever needed it. I only really pulled my hair back when I was about to go running or something. Kinda like how Ash Ketchum puts his hat on backwards when shit's about to go down.

The scene was fairly empty, except for a few officers. I recognized one of them as the blonde officer who'd dragged me into Central HQ when I first arrived. A vein popped on my head. _'That asshole,' _I growled inwardly. _'Asking me if I was on drugs. And then DRAGGING me into HQ. As if I'd lost the ability to walk. What a bastard!'_

I stuck my nose in the air and strutted by him irritably after Mustang. It earned me a guilty look that brought a satisfied smirk to my lips. I knew he'd probably heard that I was Riza's niece. The officer walked over to us and tapped me on the shoulder, making me turn around and look at him expectantly. Mustang turned as well.

"Hi," he began nervously, scratching his chin. "Um, I'm sorry about what happened a few days ago." I shrugged. "I mean, I'm sorry for, you know...saying you were on drugs and dragging you into Central Command."

My smirk grew even wider. "It's alright. You were only doing your job, after all."

"Yeah," he laughed uneasily. "But still, I had no idea you were his kid."

"Whose kid?" The Colonel asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Yours, sir," the officer replied quickly. "I mean, me and the guys always thought you and Hawkeye were involved, but...wow. We never knew you had a daughter!" He laughed loudly.

A vein throbbed on my head, and, glancing at Mustang over my shoulder, I could tell a vein had popped on his head as well. "She's not our daughter." he growled irritably. "Bryn is the Lt.'s niece." The Xingese man paused, his annoyed from twisting into a devilish smirk. "But it's nice to know what people think of us."

"A-ah!" The officer stuttered. "I n-n-never thought you and her were involved, sir! I was ju-just listening to my buddies talk, s'all." He smiled weakly.

"Whatever," Mustang said, waving a dismissive hand and leading me away from him. "Get back to work."

Colonel Bastard led me down a pathway that forked off of the fountain, away from the park. We kept walking until we came to a specific area, where there were no lamp posts. It was then that I spotted a familiar blonde head and a walking suit of armor kneeling in the bushes to my left. I nudged Mustang and pointed to where they were. He nodded wordlessly and we trudged over to the brothers. When we got closer, I noticed that the bushes and grass slowly faded away into a small dirt clearing, where the two were crouching.

They turned around when they heard us approaching, and I grinned. "Hello, Al." I paused. "And Ed." I figured it would be best to stay focused now, and not start any trouble.

Edward raised an eyebrow but got the idea. "Hey," he greeted us.

"Find anything?" Mustang asked.

They both stood when he asked this, and Ed gestured to the ground bellow us. "You must be blind to not see this when you guys came over."

We (Mustang and I) both looked down simultaneously. There was a transmutation circle under us, etched into the dirt. I couldn't understand most of it, but there was a huge spiral pattern in the middle. I got the idea right away. This was the transmutation circle the alchemist used to transport that drunk man here. But, of course, I couldn't say so out loud because I was still the clueless new girl.

"Is this what he used to transport that drunk bastard here?" I asked instead.

Al nodded. "This is a transmutation circle. They're used to perform alchemy. We've never seen one like it, but," He pointed to the spiral in the middle. "That was the giveaway."

Mustang ran a hand through his black hair, examining the circle carefully. "If the alchemist really did transport the man here from Risembool," he said, "Then this must've already been here."

"But there's no way he could've known you were going to be in Central Park if you got the note the day you went!" Ed protested.

Mustang nodded. "That's true, but what if he'd been in Central Park when I arrived?"

"And then he teleported over to Risembool and found the man?" I asked, shaking my head in doubt. "That's too unlikely. He would have to know the man beforehand, which, from what Hughes told you, it sounded like that was their first time meeting."

Al placed his hand on his forehead. "It just doesn't make sense!"

"Maybe he already knew of the man?" Ed suggested.

The Colonel nodded slowly. "That's possible. He could've heard of him through a friend or something."

"He was part of the military, right?" I asked. Mustang nodded.

"His gun was a gun that's only given to officers, so it's safe to assume he was."

I bit my lip. "So he could've easily known about the man through military files or something."

Ed tilted his head to one side, clearly thinking it through. "Yeah," he said. "I guess that makes sense. But we still don't know for sure if he was really a state alchemist or not."

"I was planning on looking into that today," Mustang informed us. "He could be an ex-state alchemist."

"I'll come with you," I volunteered. It's not as if I had anywhere else to go.

But to my surprise, Mustang shook his head. "I want you to stay with Fullmetal and Al. And uh." He lowered his voice and leaned forward so we could hear him. "Find out more about how you got here."

"But what about Riza?" I protested. His coal-black eyes narrowed.

"I know you've grown to like her, but this is more important. Getting back home should be your top priority right now."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the only thing that came out was a dejected sigh. "Okay," I grumbled. "I'll go with...shrimp...and Al."

"SHUT IT, ART FREAK, OR I'LL TURN _YOU_ INTO A SHRIMP!"

Oh yeah. This was going to be interesting.

**OMAKE TIME!**

Bryn: Why can't I go with Mustang? I was really getting into the whole crime solving thing! D:

Ed: Because, art freak, you would only get in the way.

Bryn: That's not true! I'd be helpful! Yeah...I'd be like Maya Fey!

Ed and Al: Maya who? *sweatdrops*

Bryn: And Mustang could be Phoenix Wright! Bwahaha...*points finger dramatically* OBJECTION! :D

Al: *whispering to Ed*Brother...I'm scared...;A;

Ed: It's okay, Al...we just gotta hurry up and get her back home...before the stupidity spreads... *pats Al*

**A/N:** Lol...I just HAD to make an omake for this chapter...xDD I don't own Phoenix Wright, either, btw. Reviews are love! The more _you_ type, the more _I_ write! ~Sketch


	16. Putting the Pieces Together

** A/N:** I'm actually on my spring break right now! :D I'm at the beach, which is why I haven't posted anything lately. We're going home tomorrow, though, so expect more soon!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA, nor do I own any brands or celebrities or whatever mentioned in this story. I do, however, own any OCs that may appear.

_**Putting the Pieces Together**_

After ten facepalms, twelve arguments, roughly around ninety seven insults and about one hundred sarcastic remarks, we were finally starting to get somewhere.

And that was only in the short time span of two hours.

"Hey," Ed greeted the guard outside Central HQ's library. He pulled out his state alchemist pocket watch and flashed it at the man.

Yeeeahhh….when I said we were finally getting somewhere….I meant physically.

Yes, the walk to the library took us two hours. It normally would've taken someone only about ten minutes to get there, but Ed insisted that we take a 'short cut' and, well…you can imagine how it went from there.

The guard nodded at Ed and let him through. I followed with Al behind me, but the guard put a firm hand on my shoulder and stopped me in my tracks.

"Just where do you think _you're_ going?" He practically hissed at us.

Ed turned around in the doorway and retraced his steps back to the guard. "They're with me," he assured him. The man narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Only military personnel are allowed in," the guard told him. "Your friends can wait outside."

I met Ed's gaze and raised an eyebrow. His golden eyes narrowed in return and a sigh (that sounded irritated and very, very pissed off) forced its way out of his mouth. The teenager sized up the guard and stood on his tiptoes in an attempt to get face-to-face with him. It failed pretty hard, and I had to resist the urge to giggle.

"Look," he spat. "I've been stuck with that damn harpy for two whole freaking hours just trying to find this stupid library. Do you even know what that's like?" The guard grunted and shoved the blonde back effortlessly.

"Sorry, kid, but rules are rules. Only soldiers allowed in."

That was when an idea struck me. The officer earlier had been positive that I was Mustang's daughter. If the rumors had made it all the way over to him, then they must've made it to this guy, too.

"Do you even know who I am?" I asked, brushing the guard's hand off my shoulder. The man raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply. I continued on, "I'm Bronwyn, the daughter of Colonel Roy Mustang and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye." His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Y-you…there's no way!" He gasped. "Hawkeye would never get in bed with him. She'd shoot his balls off!"

Ed snorted, but kept his mouth shut. He understood what I was doing. "Riz—_Mom_ would never shoot Dad," I replied haughtily. I was so used to calling her by her first name that I almost did call her that, but quickly caught myself.

The guard narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I'll believe you're their kid when I have proof."

I rolled my eyes and acted annoyed, but on the inside? I was panicking. I didn't have any proof that I was their daughter at all. No birth certificate or anything.

"C'mon, Bryn," Ed growled, startling me when he grabbed me by the hand. "Let's go find your…_Dad…._to give this dumbo some proof."

I nodded slowly, trying hard to ignore the blush that was creeping onto my cheeks. His hand was oddly warm, even though it was his auto-mail hand. Maybe it was because he had gloves on. I shrugged off the feelings and followed Ed back to Central Park; not using the short cut this time.

XoXoXoX

"So, let me get this straight," Mustang said as we walked back to the library. It hadn't been too hard to find him; he'd gone to HQ and back to the crime scene in the two hours that we'd spent arguing our way to the library. He didn't say much in regards of the scene; only mumbled that it was much more complicated than he thought.

"You spent two hours going to the library, and once you got there, the guard would only let Ed in because he's a state alchemist?" The three of us (Ed, Al, and I) exchanged glances before nodding. "And then Bryn told him that she was the Lt. and I's daughter to try and convince him to let her by?" A nod from me.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I really didn't want to have to stoop that low to get in, but that's what it came to."

"So I need to confirm that you are my daughter?"

"We're sorry, Colonel," Al apologized sheepishly. "But it's the only way he'll let us in."

The Colonel grunted. "It's fine. I've gone through worse, I suppose."

The three of us quickly shut our mouths as we approached the library, falling in behind Mustang. "Colonel," the guard greeted him with a quick salute.

"At ease," Mustang replied, stifling a yawn. "So, uh. This is my daughter. And, um, Haw—Riza's daughter, of course." He draped his arm around my shoulders awkwardly, forcing a grin onto his face.

The guard's eyes went wide. "R-really?"

"Really."

"And…Hawkeye's the mother?"

The Colonel irritably rolled his eyes. "No, Armstrong is. _Of course_ Riza's the mother!"

"Wow," the officer breathed, gaping at me. "Does she know flame alchemy, too?"

"No," I said, a dangerous glint coming to my eyes. "But I can shoot a gun." Honestly, I didn't know _poop_ about guns. All I knew was aim, take off safety, and shoot. Oh, and reload. But that was it. My knowledge in guns didn't expand very far past that.

Now, when it came to Nerf guns…I'm pretty badass.

But that's off-topic.

"May I come in now?" I asked sweetly, batting my eyes. Ed huffed.

"Y-y-yeah," the man stuttered, opening the door for us. "Go ahe-ahead."

Mustang nodded and hesitated. Then he bent down and left an awkward kiss on my forehead before walking away. "See ya," he called over his shoulder.

I'm pretty sure I was about as red as a tomato then. The guard suspected it was from the typical embarrassment of a daughter who just got kissed goodbye from her father in public, but it wasn't even close to that. It was more like the pure joy of an insane fangirl who just got kissed (on the forehead, sure, but still) by her favorite character in her favorite manga/anime.

So it was no surprise when Ed and Al gave me suggestive looks when we were in the library.

"Shut up," I grumbled looking away.

"I didn't say anything," Ed said, a wicked grin on his lips.

We checked in at the library desk, where I saw Schiezka organizing books in some shelves behind her. I wanted to greet her, but remembered to keep my mouth shut.

I followed the two brothers up the small staircase and all the way to the far back left corner of the library's second floor. This section was pretty small, but the shelves were stuffed with all sorts of alchemy books. I spotted one that was titled 'Alchemy for Beginners'. The other books near had the same titles, more or less. I was able to assume that the section we were in revolved around alchemy newbies.

"Shouldn't we be looking at more advanced books?" I asked Ed. Then I added, "Or are they too complicated for your flea-sized brain to handle?"

The blonde snorted and growled, "It's better to start with the basics if you're researching something you hardly know anything about."

I let out a huff, but I had to admit, he had a point. I would never say so out loud, of course.

"Well," I said, turning in a small circle and taking everything in. "What should we be looking for?"

"We should look for information on transportation alchemy," Al replied.

"Wait," I said, coming to a halt when I turned to face the younger brother. "I thought we were trying to figure out how I got here."

The two alchemists exchanged a glance before looking back at me. "That transportation alchemist could be somehow linked to how you got here," Ed told me. "I mean, don't you think it's a little _too_ ironic that we run into a case like this after you got here?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes, I did find it odd. So…are you proposing that that transportation guy transported me here?"

"Yeah, it is a little out there," Al admitted. "But there's no way you could've gotten here without losing a limb or something. And since you have no memory of encountering Truth or passing through the gate, we can only assume that it was that alchemist's doing."

It was then that everything began to make sense to me. They thought that the alchemist got me there using alchemy, but even so, I still would've had to pay the price of equivalent exchange. So then…the alchemist must've had something that helped him to bypass the laws of alchemy. And that could only mean…

That alchemist had a Philosopher's Stone in his possession.

**A/N:** Whoa. The story's finally getting somewhere! xD Anyways, as always, reviews make my day! The more you type, the more I write! ~Sketch


	17. Missing Pages

** A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've been pretty busy in school.

I went to Sakura-Con today! :D I got some prints, a Team Rocket t-shirt, and…(dun dun dunnn) a Roy Mustang plush! ^_^ I didn't cosplay, but I plan on dressing up next year. Dunno who I'm gonna go as yet, but…:3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA, but I do own Bronwyn.

_**Missing Pages**_

"That's it!" I snapped, flinging 'Everything You Need to Know About Alchemy' across the room. "We're not getting anywhere with this!"

We'd been sitting in that same section for about three hours or so, digging through alchemy books. We found absolutely _nothing_ on transportation alchemy. And I mean NOTHING. There were a few times when one of us would gasp because we thought we'd come across something, but it was always followed by a disappointed 'never mind'.

I mean, it certainly wasn't a total waste of time; I had learned quite a bit about alchemy. I'd find myself becoming more focused on reading what the books had to say about alchemy than finding out more about transportation alchemy.

"Maybe we should ask Schiezka if she has any files on it," Al suggested calmly, though I could tell from the defeated tone in his voice that he was losing his patience, too.

Ed let out a frustrated sigh and closed the book he was flipping through, putting back on the shelf. "No," he said. "Let's head over to the more advanced section. There might be something there."

Al and I followed the annoyed blonde teenager back down stairs in yet another corner. This section had books with titles like 'Laws of Alchemy in Depth' and 'Advanced Alchemy: Book One'. There were some titles in different languages. One of them looked similar to Chinese writing, so I guessed it was Xingese.

Ed ran his finger along the spines of the books on a particular shelf, his vivid golden eyes quickly scanning each title. They stopped on a specific one, towards the end of the book case, and he plucked it from the shelf by the top of its spine, opening it and flipping through the pages.

I walked over to stand beside him and peeked over his shoulder, which wasn't hard; I was 5'7'', and Edward's about 5'4''. I resisted the urge to snicker about the height difference and examined the page the alchemist was currently looking at.

It was a page full of different transmutation circles. There was one with almost the same swirly design as the one we'd seen at the park. The text next to informed me that it was a circle for transmuting water out of air; the swirly design made sense, then, since it involved air.

But wait. Did that mean transportation involved air? _'Duh, Bryn!' _I thought, doing a mental facepalm. _'Transportation like that is basically just travelling really fast through the air and stuff.'_

I pointed this out to Ed, and he smirked up at me. "Wow," he said. "You're slow."

"Shut up, science nerd!" I snapped.

"At least I'm smart!" He retorted.

Well, I couldn't argue with that. I wasn't about to admit to defeat so easily, though, so I let out an irritable huff instead.

"Oh!" Ed gasped suddenly, making me jump slightly. "What is it?" I demanded.

He didn't answer, but from the way his bright eyes were frantically darting across the page with an excited sparkle, I could tell he'd found something. And this time, there would be no disappointment.

"There," the blonde said, jabbing the page with a gloved finger. I blinked and read the text his finger was on, my heart beginning to race with joy and excitement. The text read: 'Another example of alchemy that involves air would be the method of creating tornadoes…blah, blah, blah…thus, the twister-like design in the transmutation circle. There are other circles that bear this design as well, such as water and the complicated method of transportation.'

I ripped the book from the alchemist's hands and continued from where I had left off, my chocolate eyes eagerly taking everything in. I read aloud, "Transportation occurs when one object is moved…" I turned the page, only to have the eagerness in my eyes become doused with shock and disbelief. "What!"

"What's wrong?" Al asked, moving forward to peek over my shoulder (although, since he was so tall in that suit of armor, he was actually looking over my head).

"There are pages missing!" I flashed the book at them for emphasis, where the edges of three pages were jutting out of the spine of the book.

Ed gaped at the torn pages in shock. "B-but..." His look of shock turned to anger. "What the hell!" Ed snarled. "We've come so far! Why does this have to happen?"

"Brother," Al said, fighting to stay calm. "Calm down. Let's go ask Schiezka about them, okay?"

The older Elric sighed and nodded. "Alright, Al. Let's go ask her."

We made no haste in getting over to the crowded desk we'd seen Schiezka at. And by crowded, I mean crowded with books and files.

When we approached, the brunette was busy balancing a towering stack of books in her arms, mumbling to herself. Ed cleared his throat, which, of course, startled the woman, who whirled around too quickly. The tower of books leaned quickly to the right, and the librarian squeaked, trying to keep them from toppling over, but failing miserably.

Eventually, the stack fell over in a waterfall of books on top of Schiezka, who cried out in shock. The three of us darted over quickly to help her up out of the pile of books.

"Owww," she groaned as Ed pulled her to her feet. "That's the fifth time today…"

_'The _fifth_ time?' _I wondered, open-mouthed. _'Just how long has she been trying to put those puts away?'_

"Um, Ms. Schiezka," Al said. "We had a question for you."

"Huh?" The woman stood and adjusted her crooked glasses, briefly running a hand through her messy hair. "Alright, shoot."

"We were wondering if you might know where the pages to this are," Ed told her, handing her the book which was open to the torn out section.

Schiezka's eyes widened, and a saw a glint of what I decided later was nervousness in her eyes. "O-oh," she said, her voice faltering. "Those. Right." A nervous laugh.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously. _'With our luck, she probably accidentally managed to tear them out somehow and throw them away.'_

"Well," she sighed. "Those pages have very important information on them, and the Fuhrer has restricted me from letting anyone see them without his permission."

The three of us exchanged glances. She was either telling the truth, or she was lying. There was about a one percent chance of her lying, since she had no reason to lie to us, but…

"Prove it."

They all looked at me in astonishment.

"Wh-what?" Schiezka asked, her eyes going wide.

"Did I stutter?" I replied with a smirk, my eyes narrowing. I felt like a total bitch doing what I was doing, but it was for good cause.

"Bryn." Al's voice was shaking slightly. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to see the papers for myself. I mean," I added when Schiezka gave me a dejected look. "I believe you, but I need to make sure they're actually there."

The brunette librarian paused hesitantly before nodding slowly. "Okay," she said, walking into a room behind the desk. "Come with me. But you can't read it."

The three of us swore we wouldn't come within less than a foot of the pages and followed the librarian into the small room. It was dark and dusty inside the room, and I sneezed about ten times in a row (which raised a snicker from Ed that was quickly cut off into a cough from my elbowing him in the stomach). It was crammed with bookshelves that were stuffed with files and books.

Schiezka walked over to a filing cabinet at the back of the room on the left side and opened the top drawer with an uncertain pull. We stayed about a foot away as promised, and Ed and I rose to our tiptoes to get a peek at the pages (Al didn't have to do this because of his height). Schiezka gasped in shock as she caught sight of the open drawer, which was soon followed by a 'no way' from Ed and a sharp intake of air from me.

The drawer was completely empty.

**A/N:** Pretty boring chapter, I know. I promise I'll update quicker this time! Please review! ~Sketch


	18. The Lurking Monster

** A/N: **Celestial feces. It has certainly been a while e_e; School ended on the twentieth. I know I said it was going to end on the twenty second, and I'm sorry (I miscalculated). Anyways…do I still even have any followers on this story? xDD It's been so long…well, I promise I'll go back to updating every Sunday now! So please bear with me!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA.

_**The Lurking Monster**_

"Wh-what!" Schiezka gasped in astonishment, staring at the empty drawer in disbelief. I swallowed hard as she turned to me. The expression she wore practically begged for me to give a logical explanation as to what the hell was going on, but sadly…I had none.

Yeah, that's right; I made some stupid accusation without any reasoning to back it up. As I gazed into the empty wooden bottom of the drawer now, I really wished I would've.

I cleared my throat long and hard, trying to stall while I racked my brain for some sort of explanation for this mystery. "Well," I began slowly, still half-stalling. "Um…"

"Maybe the Fuhrer has it?" I nearly fainted from relief when Ed swooped in and saved my butt. I flashed him a glance that said 'thanks' and he returned it with a smug look.

"Th-that's possible," Schiezka murmured, adjusting her glasses. "He was here a few days ago…"

"Are you sure?" I asked. We couldn't afford to make any mistakes at this point.

"How could I not be?" The librarian scoffed. "We had to close the entire library and security was set up everywhere!"

I nodded. "Yeah, makes sense. So, did he come to this room?"

"Yes," Schiezka replied. "I had to guide him here. But I wasn't allowed to go in with him."

"Well, there you have it," Ed said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants. "The Fuhrer took the pages. There isn't much we can do about that."

What a sneaky bastard that Fuhrer was. _'I bet this has something to do with the homunculi,' _I thought grimly. _'Otherwise, there's no other reason for him to take them.'_

"We need to get those pages," I growled, a new determination filling my being. I had to get back home. I had to see my family. I had to hang out with my friends. I had dreams to fulfill. And I wasn't about to let some old guy in an eye patch get in my way.

The blonde alchemist's expression softened with sympathy, and he put his hand on my shoulder. "Look, Bryn, I know you want to get home and all, but…the _Fuhrer _has them. And I really don't think he'll hand them over if we ask nicely."

My eyes narrowed, and I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder roughly. "So what do you suggest we do, Ed?" I asked with venom in my voice. "We can't just steal the damn things. We can't fight him, either." An emotion-choked sigh forced its way out of my mouth, and I leaned back against a wall of cabinets. "Let's just face it," I whispered. "I'm not going to get home."

I hated feeling like that then. Actually, I was beginning to hate that entire world. It turned me into an emotional wreck; something I loathed being. I was used to keeping all of my feelings inside and not showing anyone my true colors, but that was nearly impossible now.

I looked up upon feeling a gloved hand force itself into my own hand. Edward was looking at me, his golden eyes narrowed with determination.

"Don't say stuff like that," he growled, squeezing my hand lightly. "And don't you even _think _about giving up."

I couldn't help but grin; Ed was such a great guy. "You're right," I agreed. "God, I feel like such a wuss now." I laughed lightly.

"Um," Schiezka said, uncertainty weaved finely into her voice. "If you don't mind me asking…what are you two talking about?"

"It's an inside thing," Edward and I said simultaneously right away.

XoXoXoX

I sat on the front steps of Mustang's apartment, the slight breeze ruffling my hair (which was now free of its hair tie) and the cement making my bum begin to ache. I'd been sitting there for at least ten minutes, waiting for Colonel Dumbshit to come home (since I was inconveniently without a key). The day had passed by rather sluggishly after what went down in the library's filing closet; the three of us had sat in the library, reading alchemy books until the sun began to set. That was when we decided we would head home and figure things out the next day. Ed and Al had walked me back to Mustang's, since I was still new to this place.

The soft scraping of shoes on cement shook me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see the Colonel standing over me, key in hand, smirk on face.

"Well, well," he said, ruffling my hair as he unlocked the door to his apartment. "Aren't you a good little dog? I hope you didn't mark your territory."

"You better hope I didn't piss on that door knob," I snapped as I stood and followed him inside. "What took you so damn long, anyway?"

His smirk fell and he shrugged. "Did you figure anything out?" I pressed.

The Xingese man paused, looking back at me before shaking his head. "We'll talk later. Right now, however, we're going to go visit Hawkeye, so go clean up."

"I don't have a change of clothes," I pointed out. Since the only clothes I really wore were Riza's old ones, I didn't have anything with me there.

Mustang leaned forward, kicking the door shut behind him with his foot. He examined my clothes closely for a brief moment before pulling away and heading into the bathroom down the hall. "They look fine," he called to me. "Just wipe off the stains with a wet washcloth."

_'Men,'_ I thought, rolling my eyes. "Okay," I called back. "But you get to take the blame if Riza nags about my untidiness!"

He only shut the bathroom door in response, and I snorted.

XoXoXoX

As I had predicted, the look on Riza's face when we walked in and she saw me was what I like to call 'the stain stare'. I'd learned to recognize it well, thanks to my mother.

Basically, it looked like she was thinking, 'Oh my God, she's filthy. But I don't want to say anything to embarrass her! BUT SHE'S DIRTY. But if I say something…' etc.. Overall, it was just a battle going on on her face between being polite and being a nagging bitch/telling me to take better care of myself.

Well, I had my finger ready to point at Colonel 'Just-clean-them-with-a-washcloth'.

"Evening, Lt.," the dark-haired man greeted her cheerfully. Although…there was some sort of awkwardness in his greeting, as if he wanted to talk to her alone. As if he regretted bringing me. I shrugged it off, and nodded to her.

"'Sup, Riza." Typical teenager 'hello', I know. But it just sort of came out before I could stop it. Plus, I was sort of curious to see her reaction.

She ignored the Colonel completely and turned her deadly gaze on me. _'Oh, boy,' _I thought. _'Here it comes.'_

"Hello, you two." It was directed at both of us, but she kept her eyes on mine. "So, Bryn…" I knew it was coming, so I thought, _'Screw it.'_

I pointed at Mustang, who happened to be standing too close, so he got whacked in the arm, and jumped with a sharp wince. "It was him," I said, ignoring his curse of pain. "He said I should wash off the dirt with a washcloth."

"Wha—!"

Too late. Riza's sharp amber eyes were locked on their target, already shooting pointed daggers at him.

"Sir," she sighed, obviously annoyed. "I know that you're a man, but I honestly expected more from you."  
I nodded quickly in agreement. "It's a shock he even manages to get a date."

"Hey!" He snapped irritably. "I'm not a slob!"

"Yeah, right," Riza and I said in unison. The Xingese man huffed and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, at least _I_ got some information, unlike your little art freak."

"H-hey!" I protested weakly. "We…got some info…" Actually, we hadn't. We'd hit a dead end, but that was as far as we got.

"Yeah, _sure_," Mustang said, looking smug.

"Well, sir? What did you find out?"

The Colonel's expression grew grim, and he lowered his gaze. His brows furrowed, as though he were sorting through the metaphorical file cabinets of information in his head. A breath of air was inhaled deeply before he spoke.

"Things are..much more complicated than we had expected." I recalled him saying the same thing earlier, when we went for his help to get me into the library. So, I assumed he really hadn't figured much more out since that time. _'Tch. Smug bastard.'_

"We found out that there was, in fact, a state alchemis—"

"Wait," I interjected. "Shouldn't we catch Riza up on what we discovered at the park?"

Mustang shook his head with a smirk. "I phoned her after we split up." Riza nodded to confirm what he had said. "Anyways, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted…" He gave me an exaggerated look, as though he was seriously upset that I had interrupted. I rolled my eyes in return.

"The man who used transportation alchemy was once a state alchemist. He left the military—no, I'm sorry—he was _fired_ from the military and placed under arrest roughly four years back. He'd apparently been using his alchemic powers to help smuggling rings and other thieves.

He was stripped of his bracelets; the things that let him perform his alchemy without using circles."

"Is that why you found that circle in the dirt?" Riza asked.

Mustang shrugged. "I've no idea. He escaped two years ago."

"But how?" I wondered, bewildered.

The man let out a heavy sigh. "That's just it. His file was so vague. It just ended there, without going into any further detail. I couldn't find anything on his bracelets or his escape."

I swallowed hard. This was no doubt the homunculi's doing; only Bradley would have control over keeping those things hush. But no one knew he was a homunculus yet. They were still under the illusion that he was good.

How was I going to convince them that their president was a monster?

** A/N: **After working on this, I realize that Bryn is quite the Mary Sue xD I promise she's not going to be this emotional throughout the entire story; she's just had a rough beginning. I also have begun to notice that she's drifting more and more towards becoming her own character, which is fine. Just think of her as my persona, I suppose.

I love you all more than I can put into words, and if FFnet would allow me to create an emoticon heart for you, then I would. Your support is amazing and I am forever grateful to have such awesome readers. Please review! ~Sketch


	19. The Received Pages

** A/N: **I've been having a block with this :/ Sorry I haven't updated in a while.

**Disclaimer:** I only own Bryn.

_**The Received Pages**_

"Well, you look awfully cheerful today." The sarcasm in the voice was blatant.

I glanced up from my place on the floor of the Colonel's office. Hughes was standing over me with a grin on his face. It amazed me how optimistic that man could be sometimes.

I knew I looked as far from 'cheerful' as someone could get. There were dark bags under my eyes from tossing and turning the night before. My hair was a messy, tangled disaster. The clothes I wore were the same clothes I wore the day before, and therefore still dirty (I did take a shower after we got back from the hospital, however, so I wasn't _completely_ filthy).

Instead of replying with a sharp remark or comeback like I normally would've, I let out a long sigh and looked down at my hands. I was far too exhausted to think up a remark.

"No smartass remark?" Hughes asked, surprised. "This whole thing is really stressing you out that much?"

"Yeah," I replied groggily. "That's an understatement."

He chuckled lightly, patting my shoulder. "It'll get better, I promise."

If only he knew...if only.

Suddenly, the door—the door that I happened to be leaning against, of all places—swung open. Hughes stepped out of the way, but I got knocked over and met the stiff, carpeted floor face-first.

"Bryn, we got—oh, hello, Lt. Colonel." It was Al's voice. "Where's Bryn?"

I let out a muffled groan of irritation, peeling my face off of the floor.

"O-oh! Bryn! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there..." Al rambled on while Hughes helped me to my feet, trying his best to keep from busting out into laughter. I shushed him with a harsh glare.

"It's okay, Al," I sighed, rubbing my cheek gingerly. He abruptly stopped his blubbering and gave me a serious look. Well, as serious of a look as a suit of armor can give.

"Sir," I said, turning to Hughes. "Would you mind excusing us for a moment?"

His forest green eyes darted suspiciously back and forth between Al and I before he nodded slowly. "Alright," he said, dipping his head in courtesy. "See you later!"

Once the door was shut, and the muffled sound of footsteps walking away from the office reached our ears (well, my ears, anyway. I don't know what Al has...), Al burst.

"We got the papers!"

I stared at the suit of armor in utter shock, wondering if I had heard him correctly. "C-come again?"

I was sure now that if Al had a mouth, he'd be grinning in sheer excitement. "Crazy, right?" I nodded numbly, suddenly unable to find my voice. "The Fuhrer overheard us talking about them and said he'd give them to us. And he did!"

My eyes widened. "Wh-where are they now?"

"Ed has them! He's in the mess hall now, studying them."

A cold lump of ice began to grow in my stomach then. Was Bradley trying to lure me in? Was it a trap? I couldn't tell them what I knew. It would be complicated to explain everything; plus, I'd already messed up the story enough by now. That, I was sure of.

The thing that disturbed me even more was their excitement and happiness over what they thought they'd proudly accomplished.

How could they be so oblivious to the huge trap they'd just walked into?

XoXoXoX

"Wrath."

The Fuhrer looked up from the paperwork laid out on his desk, but didn't bother to look behind him. He already knew a blonde 'soldier' stood there; he could feel his murky green gaze burning into the back of his head.

"Why did you give them the pages?" The 'man' hissed, angry and slightly confused.

Bradley closed his eyes calmly as he set his pen down and folded his hands neatly on his desk in front of him. "We need them to find us, Envy."

"But why?" Envy asked in frustration. Not that this was anything unusual; the homunculus had a rather short fuse.

"We need the girl," the Fuhrer said. His voice was cold and harsh, lacking its normal cheery tone. "She's the fifth." He turned to look back up at the other homunculus now, and though his marked eye was covered by an eye patch, Envy could feel both eyes burning furiously into his. "Or have you forgotten?"

"But she hasn't passed through the gate!" Envy protested. "That alchemist lied to us! She didn't go through the gate to get here!"

Bradley's lips twisted into a sick smile. "Not yet, she hasn't. But I'm sure she will soon."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Good things come to those who wait, Envy…"

XoXoXoX

_Later that day…_

After studying the pages for a while and gathering as much information as we could, we decided to take the pages to Mustang and the others.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Mustang growled, clearly angry.

"Hey," I snapped. "I _told_ you we'd found some stuff out."

"But you never told me what!"

Riza cleared her throat (we had called a meeting of sorts in her hospital room) loudly, shutting us both up. "If all you came here to do was yell at each other, then please get out," she said, her expression stoic with the slightest hint of annoyance flickering in her amber eyes.

"Sorry," the bastard and I mumbled in unison.

"So how does transportation alchemy work, exactly?" Falman asked, though the question was directed at Edward.

"From my understanding," Ed began, his eyes lighting up as though explaining alchemy to them was Christmas. Alchemy was definitely his element (no pun intended). "A circle has to be made—like the one we saw at the park—in one place, and another one has to be made in another place. Performing alchemy on one circle will take you to another circle."

"But…is there a limit to how far apart the circles can be?" Fuery inquired curiously.

"Actually," I piped up, momentarily stealing Ed's spotlight. "There is. The farthest apart two circles can be is twenty miles. Otherwise, you have to pass through the gate."

The room fell silent for a moment, as if they were shocked that I actually learned something. I snorted inwardly. Yes, _God forbid _that I learn ANYTHING AT ALL during my stay.

"Risembool and Central are much farther apart than twenty miles," Havoc pointed out, biting his lip in irritation (he hadn't been allowed to smoke in Riza's room).

"Exactly," Ed and I said at the same time. We glared at each other for a minute before I sighed and nodded for him to go on. A triumphant smirk formed on his lips as he continued, "Like Bryn said, you have to pass through the gate to go more than thirty miles **[A/N: in bed]**. Soo…this guy MUST have a Philosopher's Stone."

**A/N: **I think now would be a good time to thank some of my devoted readers.

_Darkness Revolution_ – One of my followers that has been with me since I first joined . Her reviews are always so supportive, and I enjoy reading them :) She has some excellent Inuyasha fanfics, although she's been inactive lately.

_adelaidemiller – _Another follower that's been with me since I first joined. I've honestly always seen her as a somewhat harsher critic than the rest of my reviewers; that's not a bad thing, though, In fact, it's exactly the opposite. Well-built criticism is exactly what I need if I want to become a better writer. Her Royai fics are short and sweet, and very well written :)

_Thieving Alchemist – _A very supportive follower of Author Meets FMA :D Her FMA fics are awesome, go read and review them!

_rose star 321 – _This reader has been with me since the beginning of Author Meets FMA. She's such a huge supportive fan and I love her to bits for it :3

There are tons of other names I could mention, but I unfortunately don't have time to. I love you all so much; your support is incredible and has helped me through some of the roughest parts in my life. ~Sketch


	20. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

**A/N: **Okay guys, this is a big and unfortunate thing for me to do. It feels like I'm killing my own child.

But I wrote this fic years ago, when I was anime-obsessed and, quite frankly, wasn't very good at writing. It's great that so many of you loved it, though! I'm really glad and thankful for all of your support. Looking back on Author Meets FMA now, however, I can tell where I've improved. And I'm extremely grateful that writing this fic helped me to develop, especially with you guys behind my back.

Regardless, it's time for me to put this story to rest.

I seriously enjoyed writing this fic and had plans for it, but things changed, and I know you guys are going to be upset at me for it, and I'm sorry, but I hope you'll understand and continue to support me. I don't write a lot of FMA fics anymore (I'm more into Homestuck now), but yeah.

I love you all more than I can express with words, and I'm grateful to have had all of you in my life! [insert heart here] ~Sketch


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